The Stains of Time
by Colin The Master of Whisperers
Summary: Following the victory of Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts in 1998, and the death of Harry Potter, the Wizarding World is thrown into disarray. Five years after his victory, people who had denounced the magical world are forcibly drawn back into it, just as a rebellion is beginning to form in the shadows. Various viewpoints and storylines.
1. An Unlikely Visitor

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

**_Chapter 1_**

**_An Unlikely Visitor_**

_"When you're sad and when you're lonely,_  
_And you haven't got a friend,_  
_Just remember that death is not the end."  
_- "Death is Not the End" by Bob Dylan

**_September 1st, 2003_**

There was silence. The cold stone walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stood as they had for so many years, though without the usual commotion surrounding them. No First Year students scurrying to find their first classes. No Seventh Year students striding confidently through the many secret passageways. No teachers prowling, looking for wrongdoers. No ghosts, lingering after death. Nothing remained. Not even Peeves, the castle's once permanent poltergeist. Peeves had vacated the school when he realised what had happened to its inhabitants.

In the fifth year following his conquest, Lord Voldemort made his annual trip to the now abandoned castle. It was something that he relished doing. This was where his ultimate conquest had started and this was where it had finally been completed. He walked into the Great Hall, empty of everything, and found the precise spot where he had been standing when he finally and unequivocally bested Harry Potter. He stopped and turned on his heels. For a second, he could have sworn that the boy was right in front of him, risen again from the dead. But the momentary vision passed from his eyes and his thin lips curved upwards into a smile as he surveyed the empty Great Hall in front of him.

After he killed Potter, the battle was easily won. The entire population of the Great Hall had been shocked and silent when Potter's body fell to the ground, the Killing Curse beating out the Disarming Charm sent by the weaker wizard. Bellatrix, he remembered with an odd pang, was dead on the floor. By the wand of the Weasley matriarch, much to Voldemort's anger. Everyone else, Death Eater or otherwise, had stood, looking on in utter disbelief and astonishment at the scene in front of them. Voldemort had given the word and the Death Eaters apparated away. It was not usually possible within the confines of the castle, but somehow they could. Before he left, Voldemort cast two spells in quick succession. One locked the great oak doors to the Great Hall, while the other filled the room with Fiendfyre. Voldemort's greatest regret from that night was that he had to get away quickly to avoid the flames. He never saw them die.

But they did die. And with them, the hopes of Magical Britain went as well. The rest of the community seemed to give up all hope. Those that didn't fall in line were killed. When Magical Britain fell, Voldemort felt somewhat content. He would move on to the rest of Europe eventually, but he needed to be sure of his power over Britain first. It was almost time to move. Next in his sights was Beauxbatons and France.

His smile grew into a laugh that echoed off the walls. To Voldemort, it sounded like music. He slowly walked out of the Hall and eventually came to the tomb of Albus Dumbledore. He had not entered it since discovering the Elder Wand. He looked at the tomb for a long while.

"I won old man," Voldemort said with a smile, pulling his features grotesquely. "Your best wasn't good enough. I spent so many years needlessly in fear of Harry Potter. A _child_. He was not the saviour, old man. I was."

With that, Voldemort flew away from the entombed body of his greatest foe and the empty Hogwarts castle, using nothing but his mind.

* * *

**_Dennis Creevey_**

**_September 5th, 2003_**

Dennis Creevey had assimilated himself right back into the Muggle community following the Battle of Hogwarts with very little difficulty. He had never really found out the complete truth of what happened during the Battle of Hogwarts, but he knew that Colin was dead. He was sure of that fact, if no others.

The day after the Battle, he was approached by a ghost. Nearly Headless Nick. Dennis, who had been hiding out in London with his parents when Colin went to fight, would never have expected to see any ghost appear in London, let alone one he was familiar with.

"Do not return to the magical world," Nick had told him gravely, a pained expression on his face. "It's over. He won." Nick did not have to say who he meant.

"Colin?" Dennis had asked, a catch in his throat. Nick shook his head sadly, causing it to move slightly out of place. Dennis wanted to cry. "What about the rest?"

"He burned all the ones in the Great Hall," Nick said, with the most emotion Dennis had ever heard in the voice of a ghost. "I saw some get away. Not many."

"Burned?" Dennis asked. He could feel himself shaking.

"Just after he killed Harry Potter for the second time," Nick said solemnly. "You cannot stay in this world anymore."

That had not, however, been the final contact with magic that Dennis had over the next five years. He recognised Justin Finch-Fletchley from Dumbledore's Army when he was shopping once. He tried to get his attention, but Justin didn't hear him. Later that same year he saw Zacharias Smith with two older people who had to be his parents. When Dennis spoke to them, Zacharias took Dennis away from his parents.

"Get away from us," he said hurriedly. "My parents are pledged to You-Know-Who now. I don't like it, but it's true. He has ways of getting information out of people. Please, stay away. I don't want anyone else to die."

When Dennis turned to leave, he heard Zacharias talking to his parents.

"Filthy Muggle had me confused with someone else," he said with a disgusted tone. Dennis had been grateful that day. He had never had a high opinion of Zacharias before, but there was something different this time.

The last person from the Wizarding world he encountered was the oddest.

It was five years after the downfall of Magical Britain and Dennis was living in an apartment near where he was attending University. How she tracked him down, he had no idea. But she did.

There was a hurried knock at his door. When he answered it, he saw a short woman wearing all pink. Dolores Umbridge was thinner than she had been years before, and he saw that her hair was greying. She was carrying a boy, about five years old, who had shoulder-length aqua blue hair. She had a look on her face that was a mixture of relief and exhaustion.

"What the hell do _you_ want?" Dennis asked her, ready to slam the door in her face, despite the boy in her arms.

"Creevey?" she asked frantically. "Dennis?"

"Um … yeah," Dennis replied awkwardly.

"Please," she said, almost pleading. "I don't know what else to do. Please let us in."

Dennis felt pity for the woman and let her and the boy in. His roommates were both at class, so it was just him, Umbridge and the boy. When he closed the door, Umbridge cast several spells at the door. Locking charms, Dennis supposed. When she got in, she found the couch, sat down and looked at the child.

"Don't touch anything," she warned, almost tenderly. The boy nodded, so she sat him next to her. Dennis sat in an armchair.

"What is this about, Professor?" he asked pointedly. It had been two years since his encounter with Zacharias Smith, so seeing someone he knew from his past life was jarring to say the least. Especially seeing a grovelling, frightened Umbridge.

"I can't stay long," she said, her eyes looking to the windows. Dennis looked, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. "He's chasing me."

"You mean Vol –" Dennis began to ask, but he was cut off with an ear-piercing shriek and he watched Umbridge cover the ears of the boy with her.

"No!" she shouted. "Not the name. Never the name."

"But it is him, right?" Dennis asked. Umbridge nodded. "I'm gonna need more than that Professor." He looked to the boy who was looking around the room, very interested in his surroundings.

"I betrayed him," she said simply. "I never wanted to even be in his service, believe me, but he left me no choice. When he won at Hogwarts, it was join or die. I didn't want to die, so I joined him. I didn't have to do the horrible things. I know what happened, but I didn't do them. After a while I realised what a horrible person I had been. I know it now. I couldn't keep doing that. I fled. I went between place and place for a month or so and came across a house in a wood somewhere. I still don't know precisely where it was.

"That's where I found Teddy here," she said, smiling a shaky smile at the boy before turning back with the same frightened look to Dennis. "He was with his grandmother, Andromeda. Andromeda Black. She was a good woman. Amazing. She took me in and sheltered me. Until his people came. They killed her, but I got out with Teddy. I've been running since."

Dennis was actually shocked. It was a lot to take in.

"And what does this have to do with me?" he asked Umbridge.

"I'm going to die," Umbridge said with an odd calmness that went against what he had seen of her thus far. "It's inevitable. He will catch up to me eventually and I will die for what I did. I'm fine with that. I can't keep running. I'm just so exhausted. So I thought. I thought so hard. I had seen the list of the dead, and there were so many names on there. So so many. You are one of the few students still alive and not in his service. And you're a good person. You were in that club for Dumbledore."

It hit Dennis then just how many people were dead.

"Who else is alive?" he asked. She looked so sad.

"That you would know? Justin Finch-Fletchley was, but I found him dead in his home," she replied. "There are a few older students that you might not know. Marietta Edgecomb's family defied him, so she might still be alive."

"Damn," Dennis said. A day did not go by that he didn't think about the Wizarding world, but this was the first time he truly understood just what had happened. The Muggle world just kept going. Occasional deaths that could only be Death Eaters, but everything had been quiet for the most part. "You know I can't exactly take you in, right?"

"I know," Umbridge replied. "I wouldn't ask it of you. I couldn't. I just … I can't risk Teddy's life anymore. Not now."

"I can't take a kid either!" Dennis said, surprised. "I'm still a student."

"Dolly," he heard Teddy say quietly. "Are you going away?"

"Please, Dennis," Umbridge pleaded. Her eyes filled with tears. "Would your parents take him in? Please?"

Dennis considered it as he looked at the boy.

"What about the Trace?" he asked. Umbridge shook her head.

"Andromeda was a Black," she explained. "Her family knew how to get rid of it, so she did it not long after he took over. He cannot be tracked. He's not a danger. I swear."

"Dolly?" Teddy asked, touching Umbridge's arm. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing dear," she said comfortingly. It was apparent to Dennis that it was a lie, but it seemed to sate the boy.

"Can I at least call my parents first and ask them?" Dennis asked. Dolores nodded, and Dennis went to the phone. He had a hurried and somewhat confused conversation with his father for about ten minutes in which Umbridge seemed to constantly wring her hands when she wasn't muttering reassurances to little Teddy who seemed to be almost as confused as Dennis' father.

"Dad," Dennis said into the receiver, finding himself to be more concerned than he had felt before, "he's just a kid. If we don't take him, he'll die with Professor Umbridge."

"I need to talk to your mother," his father replied after a moment's silence.

"I don't think there's any time for that," Dennis said, looking at Umbridge who was now hugging Teddy to her and watching the window intently. "You need to make a decision." His father swore.

"Damn it all, Dennis," he said. "Fine. You're going to need to get him here today though. You can't keep him there."

"I know," Dennis replied, feeling relieved. "Thanks so much Dad. I'll see you later on."

"God I hope your mother is okay with this," his father said.

Dennis hung up the phone and walked over to where Umbridge was standing, holding Teddy's hand. She was crying.

"Thank you so much," she said, reaching with her free hand into one of the pockets of her jacket. She pulled out a notebook and handed it to Dennis. "You'll need that. It's all the information I have about Teddy and also some stuff for your parents to raise a kid like him."

Dennis opened the notebook to the first page.

_Edward Remus Lupin_

_Born: 11th April, 1998_

_Parents: Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin, both deceased._

_Carer: Andromeda Tonks (Grandmother) Dolores Umbridge_

_Ability: Metamorphmagus_

_Potential Health Issues: Remus Lupin, his father, was a werewolf. Unknown if there were any complications._

Dennis recognised both names. Colin always knew too much about people, and what Colin knew, Dennis was bound to know. Teddy was the son of two prominent members of the Order of the Phoenix.

"He hasn't shown any symptoms of being a werewolf," Umbridge explained before reaching in and drawing out a bigger, much thicker book from her pocket. _Undetectable Extension Charm_, Dennis thought. "This is for you. You never finished your education, so this should come in handy. You'll need to teach Teddy when the time comes. Do _not_ send him anywhere. It's too dangerous."

"Okay," Dennis said, taking the book from Umbridge's shaking hands. It was much lighter than it seemed to be at first. She then handed him a box.

"Just tap it with your wand and say 'Remus', and it will open," she explained. "It's everything I have that I could salvage for Teddy. Clothes. Books. Toys. Whatever was left."

"Thank you," Dennis said. He was feeling slightly light-headed. Umbridge knelt down and looked into Teddy's blue eyes. The boy could see the tear-tracks on her face.

"Dolly has to go now," she said sadly, clearly holding back tears.

"Where are you going?" the boy asked, worried.

"I don't know," Umbridge admitted. "I'll find somewhere. You have to be a good boy for Dennis, okay?"

"Okay Dolly," the boy replied, his eyes wandering to Dennis. Dennis could see confusion in his young eyes. Umbridge leaned forward and kissed Teddy on the forehead.

"Thank you so much," she said without looking at Dennis. She then waved her wand and exited the room, never looking back.

"Who was that?" Patrick Stevenson asked, entering the room after she left. He then spied Teddy and the notebook, magic book and box in Dennis' hands. "What's going on?"

"I don't have time to explain," Dennis said quickly. "I have to go see my parents. Just … forget this happened. It's way too much to explain."

Patrick considered this, while setting his backpack down on the table.

"Fine," he said finally. "You know, there is so much about you I don't get. Your brother was sixteen. I worked it out. How the hell did he die in the army?"

"Seriously, I don't have time," Dennis said, putting the things Umbridge gave him into a backpack. He looked at Teddy. "Just wait here, okay?" The boy nodded, and looked towards the door.

Dennis ran into his room and picked out some clothes, shoving them into the bag with the two books and the box. He also moved some stuff around and found his wand. He picked it up out of the box for the first time in months. It felt good.

"Uh, Dennis?" he heard Patrick say from the door. Dennis didn't have time to conceal the wand, but he thrust it into his pocket anyway. He turned around to find Patrick leading Teddy into the room. The boy's hair was no longer aqua. It was a bright pink.

"Um …" Dennis couldn't think.

"What the hell is going on here?" Patrick asked accusingly. "I know it's not some prank. I saw the kid's hair change. And what was that you were holding?"

"Look, Patrick," Dennis said hurriedly, pulling his backpack on, "I'll tell you later. For now, I have to get Teddy to my parents'. I promise, I'll tell you. But don't tell anyone else. Especially Sam. It's important."

"Okay. We'll talk when you get back," Patrick replied. "But I want the _truth_."

"You'll get it," Dennis replied. _It isn't like it matters anymore. The Statute of Secrecy barely matters while Voldemort's in power_, Dennis thought bitterly. He crouched down to Teddy's height. "We're gonna go on a little trip, okay? Can you change your hair to the same colour as mine?"

Dennis wasn't sure what exactly Teddy could do. He screwed his face up as if he was in pain and his hair receded back into his scalp and changed from pink to the mousey brown colour that Dennis had.

"Christ," Patrick said. "You've got a lot to tell me." Dennis smiled at him.

"If Sam asked, I had to go home because of some family matters. I never told you what it was," Dennis said, leading Teddy to the door. "Got it?"

"Sure," Patrick said, bemused.

Dennis took Teddy to the car park and found his car. He put his backpack in the back seat and then went around to the passenger's side seat. He realised then that he didn't have a car seat. He had no other choice, so he sat Teddy in the front seat and fastened the seatbelt, much to the annoyance of the five year-old. He then looked around and, seeing no one, performed a cushioning charm on the seatbelt so that, in case there was an accident, Teddy would be more protected.

The drive to his childhood home was only two hours, but Dennis found the trip to be extremely odd. For a five year-old, Teddy was remarkably quiet. He was also slightly terrified until Dennis calmed him down. As it turned out, Teddy had not been in a car before. Dennis played the radio at a low volume, listening to the hit music of the day while he drove in and out of traffic.

When they finally reached their destination, Dennis pulled to the side of the road and breathed a sigh of relief. He had been concerned that something might happen on the trip over, especially now that he had a wizard in his care. In the end, he saw nothing out of the ordinary and was not stopped once by the police. He got out of the car, grabbed his backpack and then unbuckled Teddy, who was looking around the place in wonder. Dennis' parents had found a rather nice neighbourhood and it was even sunny.

"Come on," Dennis said kindly. Teddy stepped out of the car and held Dennis' hand.

"What's going on?" he asked. Dennis then came to the realisation just how much had happened in Teddy's life in just one day. The only person who cared for him left him, he was left alone with a stranger and was whisked away somewhere he didn't know. Dennis sighed and sat on the grass. He pulled Teddy lightly down to sit next to him.

"Dolly had to go away," he told the boy, who looked at him inquisitively. It seemed odd calling Umbridge 'Dolly', but he felt it best given the circumstances. "She couldn't take you with her because it was too scary."

"Is Dolly okay?" Teddy asked. Dennis heard a door open behind him, but ignored it.

"Yes," Dennis lied. "She will be fine."

"That's good," Teddy replied with a smile.

"Dolly wanted me to look after you, but I can't," Dennis explained. "My Mum and Dad are going to look after you, okay? You're going to stay with them."

"Oh," Teddy said. "Why?"

"It's all we can do," Dennis said truthfully. "You'll be safe with them. They're fantastic parents. I promise you'll be okay."

Dennis stood up and helped Teddy to his feet. When he turned around, his father was standing in the doorway.

When inside, Dennis explained everything to his father. Brian Creevey was an average sort of man. He was not tall, and was skinny. He was clean-shaven, and it was clear where Dennis and Colin had gotten their hair. After the explanation, his father was still apprehensive, but said he would try. He decided to start dinner and asked Teddy if he wanted to help. Teddy was very enthusiastic about that.

Dennis found his bedroom relatively untouched, but clean. When he entered, he immediately fell onto his single bed and looked at the ceiling. He was feeling apprehensive about how his mother would react to Teddy and how Patrick would react to his explanations. For the first time in many years, for better or for worse, he felt the presence of magic in his life again. It was almost as if he was standing in the Great Hall in Hagrid's coat waiting to be Sorted.


	2. Love, Morality and Executions

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

**_Chapter 2_**

**_Love, Morality and Executions_**

"_It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners._"_  
- _Albert Camus

**_Draco Malfoy_**

**_September 6th, 2003_**

The Muggle family were on their knees in front of the black statue in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic Headquarters. The father had to be no older than thirty-five. His black hair was messed up and he looked like he had not slept in days. He wore Muggle clothing and had a healing cut on one cheek. His wife was of a similar age as her husband. She was a brunette with long knotted hair. She had a black eye and was crying quietly. The oldest child was a teenage boy who looked remarkably like his father. He remained composed, but there was fear in his eyes. The last was an eleven year old girl. She was openly weeping. Her hair was long, like her mothers, but black like her fathers. Her loud sobs mingled with general murmuring were all that could be heard bouncing off the stone walls of the atrium.

Draco Malfoy stood next to his father, watching on, part of a crowd. Next to him was his new wife Astoria. The two had been married in June of 2003. It was, in truth, a political marriage. The Dark Lord had been concerned as to just where the Greengrass family stood within his new regime and forced Draco's father, Lucius, to make a marriage contract between the two houses. Daphne Greengrass had already married Blaise Zabini, so that left only the younger one. Draco would have preferred to marry Daphne as he knew her at least, but in the three months they were engaged, Draco found that he had started to fall for strong-willed Astoria Greengrass.

The same could not be said for his mother. Narcissa Malfoy was opposed to Draco being forced to marry anyone and was even more opposed when she got to know Astoria. She was worried that Astoria was too ambitious and over-confident for Draco. Draco did not share these beliefs, especially after the wedding. He could not pinpoint when it happened, but he knew that he had fallen in love with Astoria and he could tell that she felt the same for him.

The Dark Lord apparated into the atrium with no noise, emitting black smoke as he appeared. In recent years, he had worked out how to do that and shared the information with no one. It made him seem more powerful, and Draco knew that was why he kept it to himself. Draco watched as the Dark Lord looked at the family in front of him. The father flinched when he looked upon the Dark Lord's face. The girl was still sobbing.

The Dark Lord looked at the girl, leaning down to put his face in front of hers and she stopped crying. She opened her eyes just a sliver and screamed.

"Leave her alone!" the girl's older brother yelled. The Dark Lord turned his eyes to him and stood straight once again. Draco couldn't see his face, but he knew that the Dark Lord could sneer with the best of them.

"You would forsake your own life so easily, boy?" he asked coldly, his white bony hands caressing his wand. To his credit, the boy didn't flinch. He stared unblinking into the red eyes in front of him.

"Maybe you should forsake yours you ugly piece of garbage," the boy mocked, before spitting towards the Dark Lord. It only reached the hem of his robes, but it was clear that the Dark Lord was not pleased. Draco felt Astoria's small hand slip into his.

"_Crucio_!" the Dark Lord shrieked in anger, pointing his wand directly at the boy who immediately fell to the ground, writhing in pain. His screams were echoing off the cold stone walls and, through all of that, Draco could hear laughter from the crowd. He couldn't help but recall the times he had been placed under the curse over the years. Just the thought was enough to make him start to shake.

"Stop, please!" the mother screamed. "Please, he's just a boy! Take me instead! Please."

To Draco's surprise, the Dark Lord stopped the curse and looked at the mother.

"There was another woman who said that to me," he said in a high, soft voice that seemed to carry further than it should. "If you think it will spare your son, you are mistaken."

"Please," she whimpered.

"You," the Dark Lord addressed the little girl, "are an abomination. You possess magic, yet you do not come from magical blood."

"We've told your people already," the father said angrily. "We don't know what you're talking about! We don't know anything about this so-called magic!"

"We are a society that prides ourselves on disallowing the filth," the Dark Lord continued as if the man had not spoken. "Our policy is to rid Britain of the likes of you. That includes the family around you. If left alive, you will pollute us."

"Please," the mother pleaded, looking at the young girl who was still sobbing silently.

"We won't do anything of the sort," the father said, finally showing the fear that he had been lacking. "Just please, let us go."

"_Avada Kedavra_!" the Dark Lord was swift, and Draco could not follow his wand. The man fell dead. His wife screamed. "Silence!" The room fell silent, even the grieving woman and the boy who was struggling to get to his knees as his hands were tied. Astoria gripped Draco's hand tighter as Yaxley moved forward and roughly helped the boy to his knees.

"You're a monster," the boy said. Even now he kept his strength. Draco figured that he had no idea that his father lay dead beside him.

The Dark Lord didn't even need to speak a word. The boy's head was on the ground next to his crumpled body before he even knew what was happening. Just as she realised what had happened, the mother was hit with a green bolt and collapsed, draped over her husband, her face the image of pain. The Dark Lord looked to the little girl now, a smile on his face.

"Look at your family," he told her quietly. She shook her head, her hands not leaving her face. "I said _look_."

The little girl's hands moved from her eyes and her eyes opened jerkily. Her head slowly turned to where her family lay dead. Her mouth opened in a scream that no one could hear. The atrium was filled with a deep green light. Draco felt his insides churning and Astoria shaking as the Dark Lord motioned for people to move the bodies.

These executions had become commonplace over the last five years. Any child that shows any magical ability that were not registered were rounded up and executed, along with their immediate family. Because of the way that the Trace works, any child over the age of five when the Dark Lord took over is not seen until they hit eleven and would, in accordance with the rules of the Trace, normally be at school. Any child born after the Dark Lord's takeover was seen the moment they used any form of magic for the very first time.

The Dark Lord did not normally partake in such mundane tasks, only occasionally making an appearance. He would usually leave it to various Death Eaters, however today was different. It was the first execution since September the First. He always seemed to find those ones particularly pleasing, Draco had noticed.

Draco, being a Malfoy, was expected to be present at these sorts of events. He attended most of them with his parents and, now, his wife. Astoria, he knew, did not enjoy them. In fact, she detested them. She could not stomach death of any kind. Draco, too, was beginning to feel this way. It was an accepted fact that, to live in their world now, you had to accept the Dark Lord's way of life. In doing so, it also meant that you had to agree with everything he believed, something that Draco was finding increasingly difficult to do.

Later that evening, Draco and Astoria had dinner with Draco's parents. This was a usual occurrence, even though Draco and Astoria were living in Severus Snape's old home at Spinner's End.

"A fine execution today, wouldn't you say Draco?" Lucius asked conversationally as a house elf Draco didn't recognise put a teapot on the table.

"Indeed it was father," Draco lied. His father had become, if it were possible, a more fervent supporter of the Dark Lord, so it was not wise for Draco to voice his misgivings at the dinner table.

"They need not have died," Astoria said, looking Lucius directly in the eyes. Lucius smiled.

"My dear," he said, "the girl was a Mudblood. That was the family of a Mudblood."

"Yes," Astoria said, not even attempting to hide the sarcasm in her voice. "Yes they were. How fortunate it is that our society is killing people for having the sheer audacity to be born to who they're born to. How very fortunate."

"Your talk is near treason," Narcissa said, a hint of anger in her voice. Astoria smiled at her.

"Come now," she said sweetly. "This is only talk. A discussion of philosophy among family members. I can't imagine this is treason."

"You are speaking against the Dark Lord," Narcissa snapped.

"I did no such thing," Astoria replied sweetly. "I was discussing the execution, not the executioner."

"By questioning the actions of the Dark Lord, you are questioning the Dark Lord himself," Narcissa said sternly, as if talking to a child.

"Not at all, mother dearest," Astoria said back. "I merely have a difference in philosophy to our dear Dark Lord. He can, and will, do what he pleases. I just feel that all life is important."

"Even Mudblood life?" Narcissa asked.

"Even Mudblood life," Astoria confirmed. She then stood up. "Draco, honey, it's getting late. I'm sure your parents would love to have us stay longer, but I am so very tired."

The goodbyes were stiff and formal after that discussion, and Draco wasted no time in stepping into the fireplace and taking the Floo back to their home. Severus Snape had not kept a particularly tidy home, but Draco and Astoria had made it their own in the short time that they had been living together. They kept the bookcases where they were, but brought in their own furniture. It was no longer dark and dusty. It was a home that they were proud of.

When they cleaned themselves off, Draco pulled Astoria in and kissed her deeply.

"What was that for?" she asked when they parted. Draco smiled and brushed her cheek.

"I love you so much." He kissed her again.

Later that night, they were lying in their featherbed, Astoria's head resting on his shoulder while Draco held her close.

"Is this what you want?" Astoria asked him quietly.

"Of course," Draco responded immediately, kissing her on the top of her head. "I love this."

"No," she giggled, "I mean this world we're living in."

"I don't know," Draco said truthfully.

"It's been five years, Draco," Astoria said, rolling over to look at Draco's face. "I know you used to believe in the whole Pureblood thing, but you can't think that that's actually right anymore. Look at us. We're a shell of what we once were."

Draco stayed silent. He had been wrestling with this for years now. Ever since the Dark Lord finally won and started to weed out those who couldn't track their magical heritage, the population had dwindled. Draco estimated that the population was at least a quarter of the size it once was. Probably smaller, if he was being truthful to himself.

"And the executions," Astoria said, her eyes full of disgust. "I _know_ you don't like them any more than I do."

"What can we do about it?" Draco snapped, and immediately felt guilty.

"I don't know," Astoria admitted, seemingly ignoring her husband's outburst. "But one day you and I will have a child. Maybe not today, but one day we will. And that child will be brought up in a world of executions and bigotry. I know you don't want to have your child witness that."

"There's nothing we can do," Draco insisted. "If we even tried anything, we would be killed."

"Tortured and then killed," Astoria agreed. "I think I'm willing to take that risk. There are some things worth being killed for."

Draco looked deep into Astoria's brown eyes, and he could tell that she was telling the truth. Perhaps his mother was right to be worried about her. Astoria truly was leading her son down the wrong path.

"Astoria, my love," Draco said, kissing her on the nose, "I won't let you be killed."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Astoria replied, with a radiant smile and sparkling eyes. She leaned up and kissed Draco deeply.

The following morning, Draco took the Floo to his parents' home. It was not a usual occurrence for him to do so early in the morning, but it was necessary.

"I must apologise for Astoria," Draco told both his parents. He and Astoria had decided that this should be the reason for his odd appearance. "She was distressed after the execution. She has a weak stomach for such things." His mother was sceptical.

"I understand," his father replied, remarkably understanding given the situation. "Executions are not for the weak-hearted, even if it is Mudbloods and Muggles. I admit, the beheading could be too much for some."

"Why did she not accompany you, Draco?" Narcissa asked.

"I wanted to spare her the embarrassment," Draco replied. "I'm sure you will understand." Narcissa nodded reluctantly. "Father, may I have a word?"

"Of course, Draco," Lucius replied silkily. He eyed Narcissa, who left the room promptly. "What is it?"

"I want to visit Hogwarts," Draco said quickly.

Ever since the Dark Lord's conquest, Hogwarts had not been a functioning school. It stood as a testament to the victory of the Dark Lord and nothing more. He allowed people to visit only on the second of May each year, in celebration. It was said that the school was never reopened because the Headmaster's Office could not be penetrated, even by the Dark Lord himself. "The Old Fool's Last Defence" the Dark Lord called it, if some were to be believed.

Any pureblood would be taught by their parents or trained tutors at home. While there were people over the years that campaigned for the school to be reopened, the Dark Lord would not relent and it remained closed.

"Why would you do that?" Lucius asked curiously. "The school is abandoned."

"I know," Draco said patiently. "However, Astoria and I would like the chance to see it once again. We both went to school there, and it would be nice to see it all without anyone else around. Also, Astoria always felt a bit upset that she never finished her schooling there."

Lucius considered this for a moment.

"I see," he said, shifting his cane to his left hand. "I, too, know the connection that you get to the school. There is something about it that always seems to draw you back."

"Is there any way Astoria and I could visit it?" Draco asked. Lucius looked thoughtful.

"I will have a word to the Dark Lord about it," Lucius said.

"Is that really necessary father?" Draco asked. His father raised an eyebrow. "The Dark Lord would give us escorts, without a doubt. I would like it if I could roam the castle alone with my wife."

"It is dangerous to go against him," Lucius reminded his son, who smiled.

"It's dangerous to go against Astoria," he shot back. That even made Lucius smile.

"I feel that way about your mother sometimes," he said before looking thoughtful. "When the Dark Lord closed it for good, he put wards around the entirety of the grounds so that if anyone stepped through them, they would be detected. However, I was there when he did it and noticed a weak point. For some reason, he could not completely ward the area at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It's weaker there. I don't know why."

"So we could get to the castle if we enter through the forest?" Draco asked. His father nodded slowly.

"Yes, I think so. There is a specific area that you'll see if you look hard enough," Lucius said. "It would still be safer if I were to talk to the Dark Lord."

"That isn't necessary," Draco said, pointing his wand at his father, who reached for his pocket. He muttered the incantation quickly, and his father's eyes glazed over. "Thank you, father. I'll be sure to tell Astoria."

Lucius Malfoy would believe that the discussion was about a sensitive issue that Draco felt awkward talking about in front of his mother, rather than a discussion about Hogwarts. Draco felt a great pang of guilt when he stepped into the fireplace to go home. Altering memories was much worse than simply lying.

He stepped out of the Floo to find Astoria sitting in an armchair, a large book in her hands.

"Did everything go okay?" she asked.

"I had to use a memory charm," Draco said. Astoria closed her book.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"He's my father," Draco said simply.

"I know," Astoria said kindly. "I don't think I could do that to either of my parents."

Draco went into detail about his discussion with his father. Astoria was pleased by the result.

"So when do we go?" Draco asked. It was not the first time in his life that he was relying on someone else to take charge of a situation, but he had never believed that it would be his younger wife who would be doing it. Draco didn't mind, though. He trusted Astoria completely.

"We could go today," Astoria suggested with a smile. Draco nodded, but felt nervous.

The two apparated to Hogsmeade, where they found themselves on a somewhat deserted street. Hogsmeade was still going strong, even after the Dark Lord's takeover. It was one of the only purely magic communities, so it housed a lot of pureblood families that could not afford to live somewhere like Malfoy Manor. A middle-aged man glanced their way, but paid them no mind and moved on.

Draco mounted the broomstick he had brought with him and Astoria sat behind him, her arms wrapped around his abdomen. Astoria had never been fond of broomsticks, so they decided to just use the one. Naturally, Draco had the latest model. A Firebolt 5600. He rarely felt compelled to use it, but when he did, his heart raced, and it was racing even more so with Astoria's arms around him.

He kicked off from the ground and the couple soared into the air and towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Unlike the wards set upon the castle by the Founders, the Dark Lord's were visible to those who were looking very closely. It was lucky that Draco was used to looking at such things from a broomstick as a result of his training as a Seeker. Draco saw a point where the wards met the forest and flew downwards, Astoria's arms tightening around him as they made the descent. When they finally landed, Astoria sighed deeply, dismounted and looked around, shaking.

"I hate brooms," she complained. Draco smiled and packed his broomstick its case, which shrunk small enough to fit in his pocket. "Just in here?" Astoria asked, pointing to the shimmering which was intercepted by some large oak trees.

"I think so," Draco said, taking Astoria's hand. "We will just walk through it. One way or another, we will know if Father was right."

The two walked forward towards the tree line. When they stepped through the wards, Draco felt a shiver down his spine, but nothing more. He held his breath for a few seconds. Nothing seemed to happen.

"I think it's safe," he said, looking around. That particular section of the forest was well-lit since the sun was out and the trees were thinner.

"Can you hear that?" Astoria asked hurriedly. Draco listened. He could hear the sounds of hooves rushing towards them. Before they could get away, he saw a centaur appear in front of them. This particular centaur had black hair both flowing long from the top of his head and on his lower half. As he came towards them, Draco found himself rooted to the ground around him. Try as he might, he couldn't move.

"Draco," Astoria whispered. "Draco, I can't move."

"Neither can I," Draco whispered back as the centaur moved towards them. The sound of hoof beats rushing to the area could still be heard in the distance.

As the centaur drew closer, Draco saw that he could only see the whites of the beast's eyes. The centaur possessed no discernible weapons, but had something enclosed in its fist.

Astoria was gripping Draco's hand tight as it drew closer towards them. Suddenly it stopped in front of them. Behind it, a herd of centaurs appeared and the hoof beats stopped. The black-haired centaur began to talk in a raspy voice, thick with malice.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord survives through failure, and died in victory. Fire, blood, death. Life. The Turncoat, the Soft-Hearted Manipulator, the Survivor, the Teacher, the Outsider. The Brother, the Face-Changer, the Hunted, the Conspirator and the Believer. Different paths and different lives. Saving and changing. Choices. The wand, the stone, the cloak. Time. The old men and the young women. The train hasn't even left the station. You are only just beginning. O Children. Rejoice …_"

As the centaur's eyes came back into focus, the centaurs behind him spoke as one, their voices mingling melodically.

"_Rejoice_ …"

The centaur at the front of the herd held out his unfurled hand to Draco as the others moved slowly forward.

"For you, Draco of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses of Malfoy and Black," the centaur said, his voice now lighter and less menacing. "You will have need of this, but you shall not keep it long, for it shall come out of your possession when it is needed by another."

Draco let go of Astoria's shaking hand and reached out his own. The centaur grasped Draco's hand, with both of his, and Draco felt something small and cold in his palm. He looked into the centaur's golden eyes.

"Who are you?" Draco asked, his hand still being clasped. The centaur smiled.

"For now, that is not important," he said mystically, looking to the skies. "You have so much to do. But not today. Your place is not at Hogwarts today. Eventually, yes. But not now."

"We need to get to the castle," Astoria said brusquely.

"Not today, young one," the centaur said, now completely flanked by other centaurs, all of whom were unarmed. "When the time comes, we will escort you through the Forest. Now is not the time."

He let go of Draco's hands, and Draco immediately made a fist to make sure the item didn't fall from his grasp. He opened his hands and found an oddly shaped, smooth stone with a strange marking carved into it.


	3. Old Wounds

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

**_Old Wounds_**

"_Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word._"  
– George R.R. Martin ("A Game of Thrones")

**_Dennis Creevey_**

**_September 6th, 2003_**

It had not been entirely pleasant when Simone Creevey had returned home from work the previous day, and the feeling lingered all through the next as it was a Saturday and Simone did not have work. Dennis and his father explained the situation to Simone, and she seemed to come around to it somewhat. It helped that she thought Teddy was cute. Simone was not nearly as amused as Dennis had been when he got Teddy to change the colour of his hair from mousy brown to black.

That first night, Dennis decided that Teddy should sleep in his old bed, and he would take the couch. He couldn't bring himself to open the door to Colin's old room and couldn't bear the thought of someone other than Colin sleeping in that bed, even if it was himself.

He had lain awake for hours, thinking about just what was happening in his life when he heard soft footsteps coming down the hall. Within seconds he had his wand in his hand, though he was out of practice and probably wouldn't be able to defend himself all too well. When he sat up he saw that it was Teddy, his hair the same black as he had changed it to earlier.

"What's wrong buddy?" Dennis asked, sitting up on the couch. Teddy looked at him curiously for a moment.

"I miss Dolly," he said simply. Dennis slid up the couch and patted the seat next to his. Teddy understood and walked over and sat down.

"I know you miss Dolly," Dennis said as the little boys trusting eyes met his. "But she had to go away. You'll be safe here, I promise."

"Can Dolly visit?" Teddy asked. Dennis felt slightly heartbroken for the boy.

"I don't think so," Dennis said kindly. "She loves you, and she will miss you just as much as you'll miss her."

Teddy seemed to think that over for a moment.

"See that room over there?" Dennis asked, pointing. Teddy looked at the door, looked back and then nodded. "That was my brother's room. He had to go away too, like Dolly. I miss him very much."

Dennis had not spoken much about Colin since he died. Whenever he did, it created a sadness like nothing else he knew.

"Do I have to stay here?" Teddy asked.

"Yeah," Dennis said. "But my mum and dad are the greatest mum and dad in the world. You will love it here."

"Will you stay here too?" he asked. Dennis shook his head.

"I have to go to school," Dennis told Teddy. "I'll come and visit though."

For a little while the two of them sat in silence.

"I think you might want to get back to bed," Dennis said with a smile. "You want me to take you in?"

"Yes please," Teddy said tiredly. Dennis took his hand and led him down the hall and to his old room. He tucked the boy into the bed and went to leave the room. "Will you stay with me?"

"I'll stay for a little while," he said. "You have to scooch over a bit."

Dennis sat down on the top of the sheets before leaning back and putting his head on his old pillow. Within minutes, Teddy was asleep. Dennis thought about getting up, but put it off. In the morning he was woken up by his mother. He had not moved since he shut his eyes, but Teddy was now on top of the sheets with an arm across Dennis' chest. As Dennis moved out from under Teddy without waking him, he noticed his mother was smiling in a way she hadn't done in years.

All through Saturday, Simone seemed to gradually get used to the idea of having another child around the house. Dennis suspected that it might do both his parents some good. Teddy would never be a replacement for Colin, but they might like to feel like parents again.

Teddy was fascinated by the television set and spent a large portion of the day watching it, wide-eyed. Dennis watched some with him, but found that children's programmes were not as interesting anymore, so he took out the one textbook he had in his backpack when he left and started reading. After a while, he found that he couldn't concentrate, and the words kept jumbling together and his eyes kept wandering around the house. In particular, he kept looking at the door to Colin's room.

Ever since Colin died, Dennis had not entered his room. He was fairly certain that his mother and father hadn't entered it either. It would just open old wounds that never really healed. For some reason, Dennis couldn't stop himself from looking at the door. It was as if he was being drawn to it somehow.

He finally decided that it was time to put the past away, so he stood up and walked towards the door. His father was working on the car and his mother was busy cooking dinner, so Dennis didn't think that either of them knew what he was doing. For some reason, Dennis didn't feel inclined to let either of them know what he was doing. Partly out of guilt and partly because he didn't want them to stop him for any reason.

There was a slight creak when he pushed open the door. The room was illuminated only by a window opposite the door, the light showing the dust in the air. The first thing Dennis noticed was that Colin's bed was made. This was something that Colin always did out of habit, so it did not surprise him in the least to see that. There was a thick layer of dust on the bed, making the maroon colour lessen. Dennis then saw that there were some shirts and trousers on the floor. They were new shirts that Colin had bought just before they went into hiding in London and forgot to pack. Dennis did not understand why they were on the floor, however.

On the bedside table, there were some books on magic that Colin took to reading whenever he was upset or lonely. He used to read them a lot, Dennis remembered. But it wasn't the book on the table that caught Dennis' eye. It was the scrapbook on the floor, face down and open to a page. Dennis didn't want to disturb the room, but he didn't think that Colin would have left the scrapbook like that. It was full of the photos that Colin took at Hogwarts, and those were too precious to Colin for him to leave them on the floor like that. Dennis picked up the book and looked at the pages it was open to.

On one side it was a picture that Colin had taken during a Dumbledore's Army session of Harry Potter demonstrating the disarming charm to a very young Dennis. The picture was moving, so every now and then Harry would look up at the camera and smile a brilliant smile as the Dennis in the photo performed a perfect charm. Dennis remembered the day fondly.

The other page was missing a picture. Dennis had to rotate the book a bit so he could read what was written on it. On the top of the page, Colin had written in blue ink '_Dumbledore's Army_'. Around where the picture had once been, Colin had written the names of every member of the group. The picture had been taken from the page, Dennis could tell.

Dennis could feel tears forming in his eyes. It was the first time in years that he had held anything of Colin's in his hands or even seen Colin's handwriting. He wanted to look through the scrap book, but he knew that he wouldn't find what he wanted. The photo that was missing was the only photo that Colin had that actually had Colin in it. Dennis had not seen a picture of Colin over the age of eleven in so long that he had begun to forget what his big brother had looked like as a teenager. But Colin never got in front of the camera, and Dennis knew that the group photo was all there was with Colin in it.

Dennis wiped away the tears and put the scrapbook on Colin's bed. It was then that he realised that the top drawer of Colin's dresser was open. Dennis walked over to it and the first thing to catch his eye was the thick book that Dennis knew was Colin's journal.

Dennis stared at the book for a while. The last time he had seen it, Colin had it in London while they were in hiding. It was only then that Dennis put everything together. Colin must have made a stop at home before heading off to fight at Hogwarts. Dennis looked at the scrap book. _He came home to get that picture_, he realised. Dennis looked back to the journal, a tug-of-war happening in his mind.

In the end, Dennis reached out and picked up the book. He opened up to a random page close to the beginning.

_November 7, 1992_

_I feel terrible._

_Harry had a Quidditch match today, Gryffindor against Slytherin. I was in the stands cheering on Gryffindor and enjoying my first real Quidditch match and taking heaps of photos. I think I would have enjoyed it more, except there was a weird bludger following Harry around all the time. It wouldn't let up._

_Gryffindor was being slaughtered, but then Harry caught the Snitch, and they won. But that bludger hit him in the arm and broke it. I ran down the stairs with my camera. When I got there, Harry was lying in the mud. I don't know what I did, but somehow my stupid camera went off! Harry yelled at me._

_I think it was then that I realised. Harry doesn't like me._

_I only want a friend. I don't know anyone here. When I saw that Harry was nearly as old as me, I thought it would be easy to make friends with him. He's some kind of celebrity, and every celebrity I've heard of before seemed to love that kind of thing. I just thought I could make friends by treating him that way. But he hates it. I know that now. I'm not even really sure why he's famous. No one will tell me. No one talks to me._

_I think I'm going to go and apologise to him. Madame Pomfrey won't let me into the Hospital Wing to see him though, so I think I'm going to have to go after dark and sneak in. I want to apologise to him. I want him to like me._

_I want a friend._

Dennis started to cry in earnest. He knew what happened after that. Colin had never told him, but he knew anyway. Colin was petrified heading to the Hospital Wing to visit Harry. Whenever Dennis had heard the whispers about Colin around the school, it was always about "that creepy Creevey kid who tried to give Harry Potter grapes".

Dennis knew that Colin had been lonely at Hogwarts, but he had not realised the extent of it. When Dennis arrived at the school, he and Colin became close again, but Dennis also made other friends. Colin never did. He never could. Everyone his age and older never forgot those first few months.

Dennis put the journal back where he had picked it up from, tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked back at the scrap book. _He didn't die fighting against Voldemort_, Dennis thought to himself. _He died fighting for the only group that ever accepted him. He fought for Dumbledore and Harry. He fought for Dumbledore's Army_.

For the first time in nearly five years, Dennis Creevey truly felt the pain of losing his brother. The room was dusty and dirty, but it was Colin's presence that made it painful. Dennis turned to leave the room and found himself looking at Colin's bookshelf near the door. On the middle shelf sat the camera that Colin had been so proud of. Dennis knew now why Colin used it sparingly after his first year. He tore his eyes away and moved quietly out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

Before he could be spotted by anyone he moved to the bathroom where he splashed water on his eyes. He looked into the mirror. He could never see the similarities between Colin and himself, and still couldn't. Except for the hair. They had always had similar hair. When Dennis turned sixteen, he knew that he was taller than Colin had been at that age by quite a margin. Colin also seemed to retain a youthful look in his face, while Dennis' face became much more masculine as he got older. He wondered what Colin would have been like now.

Dennis made the decision to stay Saturday night as well. This was partly because he wanted Teddy to feel more comfortable in the house, but mostly because he was trying to avoid talking to Patrick. Even after everything that had happened to Magical Britain he found himself still wanting to hide it all. _Once Patrick knows, he's in danger_, Dennis thought to himself more than once.

He slept on the couch again that night, but this time he was not disturbed by Teddy. Instead, he dreamed.

In the dream he was back at Hogwarts. Everything seemed peaceful, but it was so quiet. He found that he was standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, but when he turned the portrait was empty. He went to it and pulled at the frame, but it didn't budge. There was nothing for it. He walked away, hoping to run into someone.

The corridors were empty. All of them. It felt like he walked for hours and still no one appeared. The portraits that he saw were empty, there were no ghosts and the only sound was the sound of his footsteps. He never spoke a word as he wandered the halls, searching for anyone.

Eventually it came to him what he needed to do. Then it was like he had been transported where he wanted to be. He was outside the giant doors to the Great Hall. Still there was silence. He reached out and pushed the doors open. They seemed to be as light as a feather as they both swung open to reveal the Hall engulfed in flame. It was like looking into a giant furnace. Dennis looked around quickly, but saw no one. He grabbed the doors to the Great Hall once again and pulled them shut. As he did, he heard footsteps running behind him. He couldn't tell how many. Two? Three? He didn't know. He whirled around hoping to see who it was, but he came face to face with an eleven year old Colin, dressed in Death Eater robes, with a smirk on his youthful face and red eyes.

Dennis woke with a jolt and, for a moment, felt like he was falling. He lay staring at the ceiling for a moment, and then noticed that the sun was just rising. No one else was up, but he sat up and made himself a cup of coffee. Normally he would go for tea, but sometimes he just needed coffee, and this was one of those times.

"Morning," Dennis said when his mother entered the kitchen. He had his coffee and two slices of toast.

"You're up early for once," his mother replied with a laugh. She obviously had not been awake long.

"I didn't sleep well," Dennis replied, taking a bite out of his toast.

"Of course you didn't," his mother responded, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Sleeping on couches isn't fun."

"Mm," Dennis murmured. "Look Mum, I'm sorry to drop this on you. I couldn't just not do anything."

"I understand," his mother said with a smile, sitting next to him with her coffee. "You did the right thing. I just have to get used to having a kid around the house again."

"If you need any help with some magic thing, just let me know," Dennis said. "I can't do everything, but I might be able to help."

"Of course." Dennis had always been impressed at his mother still being okay with magic given everything that had happened over the years. "When are you heading back?"

"In a couple of hours," Dennis said, sipping his coffee. "I want to get back before Patrick wakes up. So any time before two should be good."

"Oh, that's right. You're telling him about everything," his mother said, intrigued.

"Not willingly," Dennis said with a wry smile. "Given what's happened, knowing about the magical world could well be a detriment."

"Honey, he's living with you," his mother reminded him. "From what I can tell, that could be dangerous enough. If these people wanted to, they could track you down. He's in danger just because of that. You may as well tell him so he can be prepared if it happens."

Dennis had not ever heard his mother talking like this before.

"Doesn't that make you and Dad in danger as well?" he asked. His mother nodded.

"Yes it does," she said curtly. "But we're your parents first and foremost. Besides, it's been five years and no one has come looking."

"But don't you get worried?" Dennis asked. His mother smiled.

"All the time," she said, reaching over and fixing his hair. "Life goes on. No matter what happens to you, there is someone out there that needs you to be strong. So I just keep on going."

A few hours later, Dennis had his backpack in his car, ready to go. He said goodbye to his parents, and then knelt down to say goodbye to Teddy, who immediately wrapped him in a hug.

"You have to be good, okay?" Dennis said to him. Teddy nodded. "Great. I'll see you soon."

"Promise?" Teddy asked. Dennis nodded, looking into the boy's blue eyes.

"I promise."

A few hours later he arrived back at his apartment and found his best friend Patrick sitting on the couch. Dennis looked at his watch which told him that it was barely midday.

"Not like you to be up so early, Pat," Dennis said, setting down his backpack. "You missed the sunrise."

"Like you saw the sunrise," Patrick responded. "You're nearly as bad as I am."

"Sam around?"

"No, she stayed at Josh's last night," Patrick said with a grimace. Neither he nor Dennis liked Josh, but they kept that to themselves. Sam was horrifying when she was angry. "We've got something to talk about then, eh?"

"Ugh," Dennis said aloud. "I guess so. I think I'm going to tell Sam as well whenever I see her next."

"Might be a while," Patrick said. "You know how she is when she finds _the one_." Dennis chuckled and sat in their armchair.

"What do you want to know then?" he asked bluntly.

"How about we start with your brother then?" Patrick said, sitting forward on the couch in anticipation.

"Well in my defence, I never lied," Dennis said quickly. "He did die fighting. And, yes, he was only sixteen as you pointed out the other day."

"A sixteen year old dying in combat?" Patrick asked. "I feel like I would have heard of that on some sort of news or other."

"Well, normally I suppose you would, but this wasn't normal," Dennis said, struggling to find the right words. "I feel like I need to start further back than that. When Colin was eleven, he got this letter …"

Dennis spent the better part of the next few hours explaining things and answering Patrick's questions. He promised to give Patrick some of the books that he had kept over the years to read. To begin with, Patrick seemed to be jealous of Dennis and his experience in the magical world, but eventually he realised what it had really meant.

"And that boy?" he had asked when Dennis had answered most questions about the magical world. "The woman?"

"The woman was an old Professor from Hogwarts," Dennis explained. "Dolores Umbridge. She was hated by everyone when she worked there. She's been on the run for a while now, and seems to have changed her mindset quite a bit. She got Teddy when his grandmother died. She was living with them at the time, apparently. His parents were killed in the Final Battle."

"What happened to, Umbridge was it?" Patrick asked. Dennis shook his head.

"I have no idea at all," Dennis replied sadly. He was slightly shocked to find himself concerned for Umbridge's safety, of all people.

"Rough," Patrick said with a sigh, sinking back into the couch. "Thanks for telling me."

"You kind of forced me," Dennis said with a reluctant laugh. "It's for the best anyway."

"Why's that?"

"So long as you live with me, you could be in danger," Dennis explained. "That's if you want to stay of course."

"I wouldn't even consider leaving," Patrick replied, his smile broad. "Besides, a little danger in life is great."

"Listen, Pat. If you ever see _anyone_ wearing some kind of cloak, you tell me right away. It's not likely it will be a coincidence," Dennis said, suddenly stern. "It could be the difference between life and death."

Patrick nodded, but it didn't help the feeling in Dennis' stomach.


	4. The Grass Will Be Greener

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

**_Chapter 4_**

**_The Grass Will Be Greener_**

"_You can't always get what you want.  
But if you try sometimes you just might find,  
You just might find,  
You get what you need."  
_– "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones

**_Justin Finch-Fletchley_**

**_October 21, 2003_**

Justin Finch-Fletchley was one of the lucky ones and he knew it. When everything went down after his Sixth Year and then after the downfall of Magical Britain, he was able to escape and, unlike some others, he wasn't hunted down by the Ministry. He simply lived his life as any Muggle would normally live it, except he had no need for any job because his family had a substantial amount of money set aside for his eighteenth birthday, so he was able to live off that for the most part.

Even with that comfortable life, Justin was finding it frustrating. Most of the people he had known from Hogwarts were dead, and he had very few friends in the Muggle world as a result of the seclusion of Hogwarts during his school years. He tried to make friends in his neighbourhood, but he found it was too difficult to replace those that he had lost. As a result, he found himself reading a lot of books and even doing some writing just to get rid of the boredom most days.

One of the good things to come out of everything was that Justin had become quite a good cook. The smell of his cooking was wafting through his house when the doorbell rang. Justin wiped his hands on a tea towel answered the door, knowing exactly who it would be.

"Hey," Zacharias Smith said as he walked into the house. He closed the door, kissed Justin on the cheek and hugged him. "Sorry I'm early. I just couldn't spend any more time with my parents. They're really on me today."

"That's fine Zach," Justin replied with a smile. "We haven't seen each other in a week. I'm just happy to have more time with you." Zach smiled, but his smile fell quickly and he groaned.

"My parents are _really_ starting to get on my nerves," he said, sitting down at the kitchen bench, watching Justin go to work. This was how it went whenever they stayed in. "They keep pressuring me to meet with Pansy. Ugh. Even if I did go that way, that is _not_ who I would go for."

Justin knew that Zach's parents were pressuring him to marry Pansy Parkinson. It was part of the new regime that purebloods marry other purebloods to make more purebloods, but Justin knew where Zach's heart really was, so he didn't feel threatened, least of all by Pansy Parkinson of all people. He struggled to remember any interaction he had with her, but he knew what she was like second-hand, and she was not pleasant.

Justin cooked silently for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

"They're even talking about a marriage contract now," Zach said gloomily.

"What?" Justin blurted out. "But you're twenty-three!"

"That's kind of the point," Zach said. "Mum and Dad seem to think that a man my age should be married already. They think I'm taking too long."

"So they are going to take away your freedom? Your choice?"

"Seems that way, yeah," Zach said solemnly.

"What are you going to do?" Justin asked him. Zach shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied. "I can't very well marry Pansy. When she realises that I can't even consummate the marriage, Merlin knows what will happen. I can't tell my parents I'm gay either. It might have been okay before, but there are so few young purebloods now that we have to have kids just to survive. Who knows what the Ministry would think of a perfectly virile man not fathering kids? For all I know, Macnair will execute me like he does nearly everyone else."

"Don't talk like that," Justin said, but Zach gave him a look.

"It's true," Zach said. "It could happen. This regime has done worse to better people than me. It sucks too because before You-Know-Who won, the wizarding community was actually accepting of gay people. It wasn't encouraged, sure, but if someone was gay, there was no issue. Even the big pureblood families believed in that. Unless there was a desperate need for an heir. But now it's changed and I just know that something would happen if I said anything."

"There is another possibility," Justin reminded him, checking on the pasta. Before he could continue, Zach cut him off.

"No, I can't leave," he said abruptly. He always said this. "You know I want to just stay with you forever, but if I left I would be hunted. I mean, they're hunting Umbridge right now! Plus, I can do so much more there than I can here. I mean, I got you and Dennis off that list remember."

Justin did remember. Two years after Voldemort took over, Zach tracked him down. By that point Zach was working within the Ministry. They basically hired him because of his past connections to Harry Potter. He was meant to track down anyone who survived the Battle of Hogwarts and tell the Ministry where they were hiding. When he found Justin, he helped Justin to ward his new house so that any person with magical abilities would not be able to see Justin at all and would only see what they don't want to see in the house. So if someone tracked Justin down, they would only see a young Muggle family. Zach also managed to convince the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that Justin and Dennis Creevey were dead, so any reference to them at the Ministry was removed, meaning that the Ministry no longer tracked their names at all. As a result, Justin was much freer to actually do things without fear of the Ministry at all.

"So you have to marry her then," Justin said simply. Zach was looked at him with wide eyes.

"You can't mean that," Zach replied, looking slightly hurt. "I love _you_, not that bitch."

"I know you do," Justin said calmly. "I hate the idea that you have to be married to someone other than me, but it's the only thing for it. Unless you want to leave and live with me."

"I can't," Zach replied, stubbornly. "I ran away once. I can't run away again."

Justin knew what Zach was referencing. Zach ran away when the fighting got too much at the Battle of Hogwarts. Justin didn't really think that it was a bad thing to do, but he knew that Zach did. Justin wasn't even at Hogwarts that day, which he thought was actually worse. While sometimes he wished he had been there, he was glad that he wasn't in the long run. He had heard the stories, and they sickened him.

"Okay," Justin said with a smile. Zach smiled weakly. "As long as I get to see you more often."

"Did you really mean it? About Pansy I mean?"

"What other choice do you have?" Justin asked. "You either marry someone or you leave that world behind. Is Parkinson your only choice?"

"She's the one that my parents would prefer," Zach replied. "I mean, there are a few others that are older or younger, but it's either Pansy or Millicent Bulstrode from our year. The rest are either married, dead or on the run."

"Bulstrode or Parkinson?" Justin asked, disgusted. "That is not a good choice."

"Yeah," Zach said sadly. "What do I do, Jus?"

"I can't tell you that," Justin replied.

"Please?" Justin groaned. Justin thought for a moment. He didn't think that he had any right to tell Zach what to do, but he hated seeing him like this.

"Marry Parkinson," Justin said finally. "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

"What do you mean?" Zach asked.

"You could go ahead and marry one of the girls that you don't know, right? But that's the problem. You don't know them," Justin explained. "At least you know Parkinson. You said it earlier, she's not going to like that you're gay. But you could find some way to keep her quiet about it. Besides, chances are she doesn't want to marry you any more than you want to marry her. That will work more in your favour than hers."

After dinner, Justin and Zach settled down on the couch and watched television. Ever since Zach discovered television he had loved it. He constantly said that, if he could, he would buy one for his own house, but since he still lived with his parents it wasn't possible. Zach had his head resting on Justin's shoulder. Justin could tell that Zach's mind was somewhere else since he didn't pay all that much attention to what was happening in the show, yet he didn't mention it. All of a sudden, Zach reached up and kissed Justin passionately.

"Promise you won't leave me," he said pleadingly. Justin smiled and kissed him back.

"Never," he replied, brushing Zach's blonde hair away from his face. "Why did we never do this in school again?"

"I was an asshole," Zach said, laughing. "And you only knew what the Muggle world thinks about this."

"Are you going to stay over?" Justin asked hopefully.

"Not tonight," Zach replied. "I kind of stormed out. If I don't show up, they'll be suspicious."

"Ugh, I hate this," Justin said. "I understand. When do you think you need to go?" Zach looked at his watch.

"I reckon we've got another hour or so," Zach replied with a broad smile. Justin smiled back.

After Zach left, Justin went back to feeling alone again. He picked up his copy of "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin and started to read. Reading into the late hours of the night had become a habit that he couldn't kick. It didn't help that the books he tended to like were long and enthralling, so he found it difficult to stop. It was two in the morning when he finally decided to go to sleep. Even when he tried to however, he couldn't sleep. He worried about Zach all the time, but Zach wasn't the only one he worried about. He knew of a few other people who escaped the grasp of Voldemort that were still alive and he worried for all of them as well. He knew that it wasn't a rational thing to do, but he did it anyway. After two hours with no sleep, he reached into a drawer and pulled out a sleeping potion, took a swig and within moments was sleeping. As usual, he found himself resolving to do something to help other people when he woke up.

It was the doorbell that finally woke him up. He looked at his clock which said that it was well after one in the afternoon, which was par for the course when it came to his sleep schedule these days. He yawned and considered just going back to sleep, but decided to just put on his bathrobe and answer the door.

The woman at the door looked familiar to Justin. She had shoulder length black hair, brown eyes and was dressed in black jeans and a button-up bright yellow shirt.

"I knew it," she said by way of greeting, a smile forming on her face. "Justin, right? Finch-Fletchley?"

"Who's asking?" Justin asked, taken aback. The woman was slightly taller than he was, but the way she composed herself made it seem like she was so much taller.

"That's a yes then," she said with a smirk. "Daphne Greengrass. Ring any bells?"

"How did you find me?" Justin asked, his hand reaching for his wand which he always kept nearby.

"Oh, don't do that," Daphne said with a laugh. She pushed through the door, past Justin and looked around the house. "If I was going to kill you, you'd be dead and you know it. Very good warding here. Clearly beyond a Muggle-born who never got through all of his Hogwarts education, even if you were particularly good. If I hadn't known any better, I would truly have believed you didn't live here."

"What the hell do you want with me?" Justin asked. He now had his wand in hand and pointed at Daphne who actually looked startled.

"I don't mean you any harm, Justin," Daphne said quickly. "Look, I'll take out my wand and give it to you, okay? I just want to talk."

"Alright," Justin replied warily. Daphne put up one hand and reached for her wand with the other. When she found it, she slowly handed it over to Justin who took it. It was longer than his own, but it was made of a different wood that Justin didn't recognise.

"All good?" Daphne asked, her eyes surveying her surroundings.

"Yes," Justin replied, lowering his wand finally. "What do you want?"

"Don't worry, only I know you're still alive," Daphne said with a smile. "No one else will show up. Turns out the Ministry thinks you're dead. Dead people usually smell worse from what I understand. Besides, I don't really like the Ministry at all."

"Why are you here?" Justin asked, getting annoyed. "You didn't just come here on a whim."

"You're in a secret relationship with Zacharias Smith," Daphne said bluntly, though a hint of a smile tinged her face. Justin was taken aback. "Yeah. Thought so. See, I've been following Smith around. I have something of a vested interest in him at the moment. Last night, he spent quite a long time here. Granted, yes, he could just have been visiting a friend, but the state in which he left this house was much rougher than when he entered, which aroused my suspicions."

Justin could feel his face brightening while Daphne winked and laughed again.

"And other things apparently. Oh, I'm sorry," Daphne said when she stopped laughing. "I'm only teasing you. May I sit?"

"Uh, yeah," Justin replied, motioning to the couch in front of the television. Daphne picked up the remote control.

"I haven't really been in the Muggle world that much, but I do love this television thing," she said conversationally. "I made Blaise buy me one when we were married. My parents were never overly fond of it, so they never got one. I just keep finding it fascinating. Plus, it's nice to see what a world that isn't ruled by a psychopath is like."

"Blaise? As in Zabini?" Justin asked, sitting on the couch next to her, one leg folded under the other so that he could look at her when she talked to him.

"Yeah. My husband," Daphne replied, setting aside the television remote. "I've been married now for two years. I thought it would be better, honestly. He only married me because the Greengrass family has been known to be fence-sitters in the past, I'm sure. That seems to be what they did to a lot of families like ours. That's why I'm here actually."

"What?" Justin asked. He hated how foolish he sounded, but he truly had no idea what was going on. "I've never had anything to do with Blaise. Not at Hogwarts, and not now."

"No, that's true," Daphne said. "It's kind of a long explanation. Blaise is cheating on me. I've known that for months now, but there's nothing I can do about it. As I said, the Greengrass family is not exactly in the good books with You-Know-Who. Granted, the Zabini family aren't amazing supporters themselves. Blaise hasn't even got the mark. But they're fervent enough supporters that, if I spoke out about him cheating on me, it would be him that they side with in the end, which would end badly for me given the accusations."

"That's not cool," Justin said, with a grimace.

"I can deal with it," Daphne replied with a smile. "Anyway, I found out who he was cheating on me with. Pansy Parkinson. I never liked her when we were at school together, and she's done nothing to endear herself to me over the years. I found out that she's having an affair with Blaise. I did some digging and discovered that her family is very seriously considering a marriage contract between her and one Zacharias Smith. So, I decided that it was best to find out his intentions. I followed him around for a while to see what he does. That leads us to now."

"Right," Justin replied. "That's all well and good and everything, but why talk to me? I mean, nobody else knows about me and Zach. Why not just talk to Zach directly?"

"Let me ask you a question," Daphne said.

"Okay, go ahead."

"Does Zacharias want to marry Pansy?" Daphne asked.

"Of course not," Justin bristled.

"Exactly," Daphne replied. "Nobody does. That's why she's still unmarried. Well no one except Blaise, I suppose."

"I don't see the point though," Justin said, perplexed. "He has to marry her."

"Indeed," Daphne agreed. "If he doesn't, it'll raise suspicions. But there's a way everyone can get what they want here. You, me, Blaise, Zacharias and Pansy."

"And what is it that you want?" Justin asked. Daphne smiled.

"I want to be divorced," she said plainly. "You and Zacharias want to be together. Blaise and Pansy want to be together. We can make this happen."

"Really? How exactly?"

"If Zacharias discovers that Pansy is cheating on him with Blaise, he and I can file for divorce at the same time," Daphne responded, her smile more of a smirk. "Well, not long after each other anyway. That way, there are two parties being wronged by the same people. There's little that can be done in that situation, so the marriages will be ended. Blaise and Pansy are free to get married then."

"That actually makes sense," Justin said, impressed. He knew that Daphne was smart, so it wasn't entirely a shock to him. Other than Hermione Granger and Padma Patil, Daphne was the smartest in their year. "But there's still the issue that Zach will need to remarry."

"He'll marry me," Daphne said simply.

"He's gay," Justin said quickly. Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Really? I thought his dishevelled state last night was because you two were jumping on the bed," she said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Then again, replace one letter in 'jumping' and it's pretty much what you were doing I would imagine."

"Okay, I get it," Justin said, his face going red again. "What do you get out of it? Going from a cheating husband to a gay one with a boyfriend doesn't seem like that much of a good jump."

"Freedom," Daphne replied seriously. "Blaise might make for a passable husband if he wasn't a cheater and didn't support a corrupt system led by a maniac. While I'm with Blaise, there are certain things that I have to do. Whenever there's an execution for example, Blaise is expected to be there, and as his wife, I'm expected to be there as well. And it is all sickening to me. Zacharias doesn't support the Ministry. I know that simply because you're still alive."

"But surely you don't want a husband who isn't even attracted to you," Justin said.

"Well, no," Daphne admitted. "When I was little, I always envisioned a handsome prince riding up to me on this beautiful white horse when I was in the most danger, saving me and sweeping me off my feet. I wanted that man. I wanted some gallant prince. But I've learned that they simply don't exist. At least not in this world. I mean, the guy who came the closest was Harry Potter, and nobody really thought he was handsome. Not anyone who wasn't looking at the Boy Who Lived anyway. Who else could have been that for me? Draco Malfoy? Theodore Nott? Vincent Crabbe? Merlin, no. And Blaise isn't either. Zacharias is not _my_ handsome prince. But no one is. Of course I want a man who loves me and can give me kids, but at least with Zacharias I won't have myself stifled. I have to prioritise. It's either stay with Blaise, marry Goyle or marry Zacharias Smith, who happens to be gay. It's an easy choice for me."

"What's my part in this then?" Justin asked. He couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement. He felt like he was actually making a difference for once.

"I can't tell this to Zacharias personally," Daphne explained. "It's too dangerous. But if I tell you, you can guide him into discovering that Pansy is cheating on him. That way, no one has to know that I've organised it all. I assume he's an Occlumens, but even the best Occlumens can only hide so much from You-Know-Who. He won't look for you in Zacharias' mind, but he might look for me. If he found out I had plotted with Zacharias, everything could be undone."

"You-Know-Who might be involved?" Justin asked. He had grown to hate using that name, but he knew that 'Voldemort' was still a Taboo word, so he never spoke it.

"It's possible," Daphne said. "If it's a possibility, we need to be prepared for it. I'm not going to take any risks."

"If you're against the Ministry, are you going to fight against it?" Justin asked. Daphne looked surprised at the abrupt change in conversation.

"Eventually, yes," Daphne admitted. "Admittedly, my sister Astoria is doing most of that right now, but I'll join in when the time is right. Why do you ask?"

"I want to help," Justin said fiercely. "I know I'm just a Muggle-born, but that is my world as well, and all I do is sit at home, reading, writing and watching television. Surely there's something I can do."

"Right now, focus on helping Zacharias," Daphne said. "After that, we can work together on it."

Justin was about to protest when his doorbell rang. Daphne jumped to her feet.

"I have to go," she said quickly. When Justin got to his feet, she hugged him before snatching her wand away from Justin's grasp. "Thank you so much. Don't even mention that I was here."

"I won't," Justin said quickly as she pulled out a piece of cloth.

"Destiny," Daphne said quickly, and she disappeared. Justin knew what it was. A voice-activated portkey. He had never used one before, but he knew the theory behind it. He went to the front door and opened it. Zach stood in front of him.

"I'm getting married," he said simply. "Next month. I'm getting married. To Pansy Parkinson. Next month."

Justin wanted to feel bad for Zach, but as he was hugging his boyfriend, he couldn't help but smile.

"It'll be okay," Justin said truthfully.


	5. Total Lunar Eclipse

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

**_Chapter 5_**

**_Total Lunar Eclipse_**

"_Kids, your grandma always used to say to me, "Nothing good happens after 2:00 a.m.," and she was right. When 2:00 a.m. rolls around, just go home and go to sleep."_  
– Ted Mosby ("How I Met Your Mother", Season 1 Episode 18)

**_Angelina Johnson_**

**_7th November, 2003_**

"Thank god," Angelina Johnson exclaimed, sitting on the couch. "I had forgotten just how bad Fridays actually are."

"I doubt the ten year-olds were too helpful," Alicia Spinnet said with a laugh. Angelina shot her a look and groaned.

"They seem to think Friday is just the absolute best," Angelina whined. "The whole day all I wanted to do was sleep and they're all acting like it's already the weekend. All the talking and running and playing."

"You love it," Alicia said. Angelina smiled despite herself.

"I suppose I do," Angelina relented. "But teaching, not Fridays."

Angelina was living comfortably in a house with Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell in a Muggle town. They moved in together not long after the Battle of Hogwarts, which they managed to survive simply because they never entered the Great Hall at the end of the battle. Alicia had been hit with a dangerous hex while duelling a Death Eater and was obviously dying, so Angelina and Katie had stayed behind to try and save her, which they managed to do with some ingenuity and because of Katie's small knowledge of Healing due to her desire to be a Healer when she was a child. When they finally saved Alicia, all three of them knew that everything was lost. From where they were they could both see and smell the flames. It didn't take them long to flee the school, a barely conscious Alicia clinging to them for dear life.

After that, they went into hiding, fearing for their lives. They stayed mostly in motels, using what Muggle money Alicia and Katie had stowed away. Alicia's mother was Muggleborn and Katie's father was a Muggle, so they both had that money with them at all times. It was around two months after the Battle of Hogwarts that Oliver Wood managed to track them down. He didn't bring good news.

"I only got away because I was trying to move the bodies," Oliver had explained with a pained look. He was sporting a scar across his nose. "I wasn't in the Great Hall for the final confrontation, but I saw the flames. Everyone that was in there is dead and You-Know-Who has taken control of the Ministry."

"What about my parents?" Katie had asked, fear in her voice. Angelina never had that problem, as her father died when she was young and her mother was killed not long before the Battle by Death Eaters. It was clear to all of them what Oliver would say even before he said it.

"I'm sorry," he had replied. Katie, to her credit, never broke down despite looking on the verge of doing so for quite some time. "One of the Death Eaters, one of the newer recruits, Montague I've been told, swore up and down that you three were in the Great Hall when You-Know-Who set it on fire. Of course, I knew you weren't. I'd seen you all outside just before it happened. Because your names were on the list of the dead, your parents, Katie and Alicia, rebelled against the new order and were killed because of it. I'm so sorry."

"That sounds like them," Katie had said sombrely as Angelina consoled Alicia, who was not quite as strong as Katie in this area. Perhaps for the first time in her memory, Angelina was glad that she didn't have her parents with her any more.

Oliver left them not long after that meeting. He told the three of them that he was hiding out with a few of his Quidditch teammates and that, because they were all counted among the alive and hadn't pledged allegiance to You-Know-Who, Angelina, Alicia and Katie should not try to contact him again. They had not tried. If there was one thing that none of them could stomach, it was the thought that someone could die because of their actions. Most of all someone they cared so much about.

Angelina used magic to trick her way into a teaching course, which she completed in four years while Alicia, under a fake name, began writing for a local newspaper and Katie began work as a bartender, hoping to find out any news at all about the magical world, but she never heard even one word as most of the clientele lived dull Muggle lives. Despite this, the three women found some form of life where none of them had even considered before. They were all mostly content.

Angelina was in her first year as a teacher, and found that she was thoroughly enjoying it. As much as she had once wished to have a successful Quidditch career, she found something fulfilling in seeing a ten year-old learn something for the first time. She doubted that she would have pursued this line of work had Voldemort not won. It was, she found, the only positive of that outcome.

"Katie finishes at eight tonight," Alicia said. "We were talking about hitting the town tonight. You want to join us?"

"Not this week," Angelina replied. "I gave the kids a test this week and I have to mark them."

"There's always a reason," Alicia said accusingly. "Think of all the hot guys out there."

Angelina had not dated anyone for five years. It took Fred Weasley's death for her to realise how much he had meant to her, and she couldn't bring herself to even think about another man in that way since then. It was easier for Alicia and Katie. They had been in love so often it was easy for them.

"I'm well aware of the hot guys," Angelina responded, laughing. "But I really want to just get through these tests so I don't have to do them over the weekend. I really just want to have a lazy one."

"If you say so," Alicia replied with a smirk. "More for me and Katie then."

Alicia left the house around seven, saying that she would have a drink or two at the bar before they go somewhere else. Angelina said goodbye before making herself a cup of tea and settling down in front of the television to mark the tests. After a while she was beginning to get unnerved by the quiet around her, only broken occasionally by the sound of a car driving by so she switched on the television which was showing a rerun of an old British comedy show that Angelina didn't know. She wasn't really paying attention to it as she marked the tests. Most of her students did well enough. She could tell which ones needed a bit of help, so she resolved to try and help them out where she could.

She finally finished marking the tests just after eleven o'clock. When they were completed she stood up to stretch her legs, walking to look out of the window at the front of their house. When she got there, she could see raindrops falling, visible only in the light emanating from the street lights. From their house, she could see the corner of the street. For a moment she thought she could see a man standing in the rain on the corner, but when she looked back there was nothing there. She convinced herself that it was just the rain.

She was awoken sometime after two in the morning when she heard activity downstairs. She reached for her wand quicker than she had thought possible, but then she heard voices.

"Shhhhhh! You'll wake Angelina," she heard Katie whisper loudly. There was a banging sound and then laughter. "Whoops!"

Angelina got out of bed with a sigh and headed downstairs.

"Come on you two," she said with a sigh. Katie's hair was ruffled and her shirt was at an odd angle. Alicia looked better, but still was clearly drunk. "Time for bed I think. How about some water first, though?"

When she finally got her best friends into bed, Angelina settled back down to go to sleep. This was not something that happened overly often, but it happened enough that Angelina knew what to do when it did.

The following day was quiet and uneventful. Alicia and Katie took a hangover potion, which made them feel better but they still felt tired, so they didn't do very much until Katie had to leave at six to go to work again. She did not seem pleased when she was reminded of that.

Late in the afternoon there was a knock on their front door, which Angelina answered. There was a woman, about thirty years old with a smile on her face. She had long brown hair and was quite good-looking. She was holding a basket of some kind.

"Hello," the woman said kindly. Angelina smiled at her. "I'm Wendy Fogarty. My husband and I just moved in a few houses down and we're just trying to get to know the neighbours, so I made you this."

She handed the basket to Angelina who took it. In it were some scones and a few jars of what looked to be homemade jam.

"I'm Angelina. Well, you should come in," Angelina said with a smile. "Forgive the state of the house. My friends had a bit of a night out and they've been a bit tired. Too tired to clean, it seems."

"I know the feeling," Wendy replied with a laugh. "Do you mind if my husband and son come in as well? I made them stay outside after the last one. They like to think they're comedians."

"I have a good sense of humour," Angelina replied with a smile. She could see the swamp in the halls of Hogwarts clearly in her mind. "Let them come in."

As Wendy went to get them, Angelina found Alicia, who was in her room reading. When they walked downstairs, they were greeted by a family, one of whom Angelina recognised.

"Miss Johnson?" Matt asked.

"Matt Fogarty," Angelina said. She looked to Wendy. "You must be his parents. You were right, he does like to think he's a comedian."

"You're the Miss Johnson he's been talking about," Wendy said with a smile. "You're the first teacher he has actually liked."

"Muuuuum," Matt said, poking Wendy. Angelina laughed.

"I won't tell anyone," Angelina told Matt with a laugh.

"I'm Robert," Matt's father said.

"I'm Angelina and this is my friend Alicia," Angelina replied, reaching out and shaking Robert's hand. Angelina always felt the need to stress that she, Alicia and Katie were all just friends.

"Hi," Alicia said. "So you're the people that moved in down the street? Good thing too, the last guy who lived there was a jerk."

"Well we aren't, I can assure you," Robert said laughingly.

"Where are you from?" Angelina asked after all of them sat in the lounge room. Matt looked particularly uncomfortable. _Probably something to do with seeing his teacher outside of school_, Angelina thought.

"Oh, just around here," Wendy said. "We just decided to move because we need a bigger house."

"Why's that?" Alicia asked.

"I'm pregnant," Wendy replied, beaming. "Due at the end of April."

"Congratulations!" Angelina said. She then looked at Matt. "You're going to have a brother or a sister. Are you excited?"

"A little," Matt replied shyly, which was unlike him. In class he was very outgoing. In fact, Angelina thought he might be too outgoing in class.

"That's good," Angelina said. They talked for a while longer before the family wanted to move on to the next house to say hello.

"You have to meet Katie one day," Angelina told them.

"Will do," Robert said. He was looking a bit weary. They had been visiting people all day. When they left it was raining. As she was saying goodbye, Angelina glimpsed a man on the corner again. This time, he was looking directly at the house, though Angelina couldn't make out his face because the rain had forced his long hair to fall across his eyes. She turned away for a moment to look at Alicia.

"Can you see him?" she asked, looking back at the corner. But the man was gone.

"See who Angie?" Alicia asked.

"There was someone there," Angelina said, walking out into the rain and looking up and down the street. She heard Alicia following her. "A man. He was on the corner looking right at us. He was there last night too."

"I never saw any man," Alicia said. Angelina brushed the hair out of her eyes.

"It was probably just the rain, but just in case, I think we should talk."

When they were back inside, Angelina locked the door and performed a strong locking charm on it. She closed all of the blinds, bathing part of the house in darkness.

"Angie, it was nothing," Alicia said. Angelina wasn't so sure.

"What if they've found out," Angelina said worriedly. "If they know we've been alive for five years, they won't just let us live. That isn't how they work and you know it."

"You're getting worked up over nothing," Alicia said, putting an arm on Angelina's shoulder.

"What if I'm not?" Angelina asked. "We've never really talked about what we do if the worst happens. We need a place to meet up if we need to get away quickly."

"Okay," Alicia said, not looking convinced. "We can come up with a meeting place if it will make you feel better."

"It will," Angelina said. "It would also make me feel better if you took this seriously. Have I ever led you astray?"

"I'm not doubting you," Alicia said. "I just don't see why they would have anyone scouting us. Or why they would even be looking. Since Oliver left us, we haven't had any contact with anyone from that world. No one else knows we are still alive."

"I know, but even if it was just the rain making shapes, I think we need a plan," Angelina said quickly. "When Katie gets home, we'll talk about it. She needs to be here for it as well. And keep your wand on you at all times."

"I never stopped," Alicia said gravely.

That night, the three women spent some time discussing what to do if anything happens. Katie was actually very supportive of the discussion. She believed that, even if what Angelina saw wasn't actually anyone, they needed some plan. They agreed that it was probably best if they all apparated to different places to begin with and then, after a few hours, meet up at the motel before the one they had been staying in when Oliver found them. If Oliver had been captured, he might unintentionally divulge where he found them.

Angelina barely slept that night, worried that at any point they could be under attack. She tried to be rational with herself, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake the feeling that what she saw was actually a man looking right at them. Only a wizard could disappear that quickly. She eventually forced herself to get to sleep by thinking of Fred's antics at Hogwarts. Her last thought was of the night of the Yule Ball, when she and Fred were two of the last on the dance floor. She had not felt so happy, peaceful and safe since that night.

As a result of her lack of sleep, Angelina found herself waking up only half an hour before midday. As it turned out, Alicia and Katie had slept in as well, which was nothing new. They were cooking bacon and eggs when she awoke. _A perfect Sunday brunch_, Angelina thought.

Angelina spent most of the day working on her plans for her class for the next two weeks, while Alicia and Katie spent their time watching television or reading. Not a lot happened until there was a rushed knock at the door at around eleven thirty. Katie answered it.

"Oh my god, what's wrong?" Angelina heard her say. Angelina stood up from the couch and moved to the front door. Wendy stood there in tears.

"Wendy, what's happened?" Angelina asked, reaching out to her.

"Matt's gone missing," Wendy said between sobs. "He went to play with some friends and they went into the woods. They lost him and went to get help. We've been looking for hours, but we can't find him. We've called the police, but they can't find him either. I don't know what to do."

The only thing that Angelina could think of was the man in the rain. _Perhaps he wasn't there for us, but for Matt_, she thought, her blood running cold.

"We'll help you," she said quickly. "We have some torches. We'll just grab them, and you can take us to the woods."

"Thank you," Wendy said shakily. "Thank you so much."

When Angelina, Alicia and Katie were upstairs, Angelina stopped them.

"Take your wands," she said quickly. "We may need them." The other two nodded quickly and showed her that they already had them. They all went downstairs and Robert, who had been waiting in the car, drove them to where the kids had said Matt was last seen.

"We'll stay here in case he comes back here," Wendy said tearfully.

"It's alright," Katie said softly. "We'll go together and we'll find him." Wendy smiled, but soon she was reduced to tears again. Angelina decided to go straight forward.

"Wands out," Angelina murmured after they had walked far enough away to not be heard. "Don't use them unless you have to."

The woods were as creepy at night as Angelina had thought they would be. She checked her watch with her torch and found that it was midnight. There was the sound of an owl somewhere in the distance.

"How do you know them?" Katie asked. Angelina shushed her.

"They're the people we met yesterday," Angelina whispered. "Matt's a student of mine."

"Oh," Katie replied quietly. "Should we yell his name?"

"If he's lost it might do some good," Alicia said. Angelina nodded.

"Matt!" she called out, and no one answered. They kept trying though. They kept on going for two hours. When it got closer to two o'clock, the moonlight seemed to disappear slightly.

"It's been two hours," Katie said. "Besides, they might have found him."

Angelina checked her watch. It was six minutes past two according to her watch. She sighed and looked at the moon, which had turned the colour of copper. She was about to reply when she heard something that chilled her to the bone.

There was a howl.

Angelina's heart started racing as her mind started piecing things together. A kid lost in the woods. A full moon. A howl.

She didn't even say anything, she just ran towards the howl, holding the torch in front of her, the light flickering from one area to the other as she moved. Occasionally she had to duck a tree branch or avoid a trunk altogether, but her natural athletic ability allowed her to maintain her footing. There was another howl, so she changed her course. She was acutely aware of her best friends chasing after her, shouting her name. She didn't care and didn't look back.

She eventually came to a clearing of sorts in the woods. The trees stopped enough to form a circle. Inside the circle was a wolf. Angelina immediately looked at the snout and tail and came to the conclusion that it was, indeed, a werewolf. Luckily she couldn't see Matt anywhere.

"Miss Johnson!" she heard a small voice yell from across the clearing. Matt had found his way into the clearing and now could likely be seen by the werewolf. Angelina could see from a distance that his clothes were torn. And his face was dirty.

The werewolf turned and ran straight for Matt, who stood frozen. Angelina did not hesitate in her actions. She ran straight at the werewolf, which was now on top of the boy. With strength she didn't know that she had, she ran right at the werewolf and slammed into it with her shoulder, knocking it off of Matt.

Unfortunately, she tripped on Matt's legs and fell to the ground right next to the werewolf. She heard a low growl next to her and then sudden movement. The next thing she knew, there was a stabbing pain in her left leg. She looked down to see that the werewolf had bitten her. She was bleeding heavily from the leg and as the wolf's head came to her eye level, some blood fell directly into her eyes, essentially blinding her. The wolf snarled and more blood fell onto her face and into her now closed eyes.

"_Stupefy_!" she heard Katie cry. The werewolf growled. All of a sudden there were several different shouts and cries followed by some thumping sounds. The wolf whimpered and she could feel it bound over her, and heard it disappear into the forest followed by fast footsteps and someone shouting.

"Angie!" Katie cried. Angelina reached down to her leg and felt a hole. She could also tell that there was a lot of blood around the wound. The pain was intense, but she had no difficulty enduring it thanks to the various Quidditch related injuries she had sustained over the years. She then felt someone holding her head and her right hand.

"Matt?" Angelina asked.

"He's got a bit of a bad scratch," Alicia said hurriedly. "He'll be fine."

"Can't you do something?" Katie asked hurriedly. It was not Alicia who answered.

"I can fix up the wound," a female voice replied. It seemed to be one that Angelina recognised, but given the immense pain she was experiencing, she couldn't think who it was.

"My eyes," Angelina said, wiping away some blood, but not enough to be able to see.

"I'll clean you up," said another female voice, slightly lighter than the first. Angelina wasn't sure she recognised it.

"This will hurt a lot, Angelina," the first voice warned.

"Can't you knock her out first?" a male voice asked. Angelina didn't know this voice, but there was something familiar in it.

"No time," the first female voice said. To Angelina she said only, "I'm so sorry."

The pain was immediate. It was like something was burning her whole left leg. She screamed and tried to move, but there was someone holding her down. Whoever it was was strong, because she was writhing, deeply in pain and yet her body didn't move much at all..

Her screams were reminiscent of the howl of the werewolf.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Yes there was a total lunar eclipse on the night of Sunday, November 9, 2003. It was when I was looking up the next full moon after the events of my last chapter I found this out. It was too good to pass up. It was only as I was writing the chapter that I realised that the 2:00am thing at the end was actually on Monday, November 10, so for the purposes of this story, let's just assume that the total lunar eclipse happened then instead of the 9th.

I usually remove my Author's Notes after a time, but I feel that this is necessary to be kept in.

Thanks for reading my story. If you like it, leave me a review. It would be very much appreciated.

**_~Colin, The Master of Whisperers_**


	6. Serendipity

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

**_Chapter 6_**

**_Serendipity_**

"_Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for."_  
- Lawrence Block

**_10th November, 2003_**

Lord Voldemort sat in the ornate throne in the old Minister's office in the Ministry for Magic, the Elder Wand in his right hand pointed non-threateningly towards Fenrir Greyback, who stood resolute in front of him, his face more gaunt than usual. Greyback had never grovelled, and Voldemort found that both amusing and infuriating.

"Why are you here?" Voldemort asked calmly. He saw the guards at the door tremble, but Greyback didn't so much as flinch. Greyback seemed to weigh his words carefully before speaking, as he always did.

"As you well know, last night was the Full Moon," Greyback began, his voice deep and quiet. "As usual, I went on the prowl. Since I had that horrid wolfsbane crap I was keenly aware of everything around me. I kidnapped this Muggle kid when the idiot was playing with his friends in the woods. Before I turned, I let the little bastard go. More sport that way. He was better at hiding than I had expected. Before long a search party came for him."

"Get to the point," Voldemort warned irritably, moving his wand only slightly. Greyback nodded, but otherwise did not acknowledge that anything was said.

"Just when I caught this boy, some woman came out of nowhere and pushed me off him. I managed to take a chunk out of the woman's leg in retaliation, though," Greyback continued. This part of the story seemed to make his eyes glint. "Then I was bombarded with spells and curses. One of the earliest ones was some kind of blinding spell because I couldn't see a damn thing after it."

"Who were they?" Voldemort demanded.

"I don't know," Greyback growled, whether at himself or at Voldemort, Voldemort didn't know. "I was blinded. Someone chased me through the forest firing spells at me. It was a woman, definitely."

"One woman and you just ran away like a common mutt?" Voldemort raged. Greyback bared his yellow teeth, filed into what resembled knives.

"I couldn't see her, which would have put me at a great disadvantage," he said angrily. "I could barely even smell her. She was covering her scent somehow."

"So the Muggle child escaped, the woman who saved it escaped, and your attackers escaped?" Voldemort asked venomously. "I thought you were better than this. I should kill you right now."

"Go right ahead," Greyback responded immediately. His eyes were fierce, but he made no move at all.

"You wish to die?" Voldemort asked with a smirk.

"I have never had a wish to live," Greyback retorted. "Unlike you, I have the tiniest bit of a conscience. Not much admittedly, but it's there. Hanging by a thread now that I'm using the wolfsbane stuff."

"A weakness," Voldemort spat.

"Indeed," Greyback said. "So what's it gonna be Voldy?"

Voldemort got to his feet faster than lightning and stood face to face with the werewolf, who looked him square in the eyes. Voldemort stood there for a minute, and Greyback didn't blink even once. He didn't even move.

"No," Voldemort said finally. "You shall live. You are still useful. A few days in Azkaban. Lockhart!"

Gilderoy Lockhart strolled through the door to Voldemort's throne room, a wide smile on his face, his hair as wavy as usual. Lately he had taken to wearing a pink shirt under his robes, which showed just near his hair.

"My lord," he said by way of greeting.

"Get a few men together to take Greyback to Azkaban," Voldemort said, walking back to his throne. "Three days in one of the cells closest to the Dementors will be good."

"It shall be done, my lord," Lockhart replied with a bow. Greyback waited silently and unmoving as the men came to take him away. He didn't bother to protest or try to get away. He was just calm.

* * *

**_Draco Malfoy_**

**_10th November, 2003_**

"I have a bit of news," Astoria said as she walked out of the fireplace, just before she cleaned herself off. "There's a rumour going around the Ministry that Greyback's attack last night was stopped by a group of witches and wizards, who saved a Muggle boy."

Astoria had gotten a job in the Ministry after she and Draco encountered the Centaurs. After they got back home, they worked out that the Centaurs must know that something important was going to happen to make it necessary for Draco and Astoria to return to Hogwarts again. As a result, Astoria made the decision to apply for a job in the Ministry so that she could gather as much information as possible.

Using a few favours owed him, Draco managed to ensure Astoria a job in the Ministry as a lower-ranking member of the Invisibility Task Force. Mostly she was involved in paperwork, but occasionally she was chosen to go out into the Muggle world and clean up after witches and wizards, most of whom were working for the Dark Lord in some form. The Dark Lord had decreed that the time was not yet right to reveal themselves to the Muggle world, and so there was still a need to keep the magical world hidden. Astoria's job allowed her access to the gossip of the Ministry, while also making her look better in the eyes of those who look down at the Greengrass family.

"Who were they?" Draco asked before Astoria gave him a long kiss. Draco had spent most of the day reading books on Dark Magic his father gave him. He was mainly looking for information on the stone that the Centaur had given him.

"No one knows," Astoria replied. "It was Lockhart who told me. The Dark Lord gave Greyback a few days in Azkaban and Lockhart was the one to organise the guards to send him there. He managed to hear more than a little bit through the door."

Draco had never been fond of Lockhart, but he did pity the man at this point. Having never fully regained his memories, Lockhart didn't understand that the Ministry was not what it was meant to be and went straight to work for the Dark Lord. He actually managed to become reasonably high up in the Ministry simply because he had no idea what was going on, which was apparently a good trait in the eyes of the Dark Lord.

"So there might be a few people rebelling?" Draco asked.

"Seems that way," Astoria replied. "It's the first time in a long time that someone has been attacked with magic, and it doesn't seem to have been anyone from our community who did it."

"Do you think this is what the Centaurs were waiting for?" Draco asked. It was the first time that something had happened that seemed even remotely like something that would seem important in the eyes of the Centaurs, given their odd natures.

"We can't really know that," Astoria reminded him. "It's better than nothing though. And it wouldn't hurt to just go and see."

"Well we should get going," Draco said quickly. "If we don't, we'll be going through the Forbidden Forest at night. Trust me, I've done that once and I never want to do it again if I can help it."

"There was another thing," Astoria interrupted.

"What's that?" Draco asked, picking up their transcript of what the Centaurs had said to them, which they had worked out was a prophecy.

"We're invited to Pansy Parkinson and Zacharias Smith's wedding next week," Astoria said, scrunching up her nose.

"Poor guy," Draco said. He didn't know Zacharias Smith very well, but he would feel bad for any man who ended up with Pansy. "Well, we'll have to go. Two purebloods getting married is an important ceremony, unfortunately. It's expected of us."

"We'll have to get them a gift," Astoria said thoughtfully.

"I'll give Smith some poison. He's going to need it," Draco joked. Astoria smiled.

"I don't think that would go down too well," she said with a laugh.

"That's kind of the point," Draco pointed out and the two of them shared a laugh.

With the stone and the transcript safe in his mokeskin pouch, Draco apparated away. This time they didn't need to apparate to Hogsmeade because the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest weren't covered by the anti-apparation ward. When they arrived, they could see a group of Centaurs in the tree line, watching them. As they approached the tree line, not one of the Centaurs moved. At the front of the group was the same Centaur that spoke the prophecy to them.

"Draco of House Malfoy," the Centaur said as they drew closer, "and his beloved Astoria of House Greengrass. The Centaurs welcome you once again. I am known as Bane."

"I take it this is the right day then?" Draco asked. Bane nodded.

"We shall escort you through the forest today," he said, his eyes looking to the starless sky. "It has been foretold that you are important. We Centaurs rarely get involved in the issues of Man, but of late we have observed a shift in authority. It seems as though the human race has need of us in ways that once were unnecessary. Once we would have ignored the signs, but we have become somewhat enlightened following the Battle of years past. The new regime is no friend to Centaurs. Come."

Another Centaur with red hair and a red beard came closer to Draco, picked him up with his strong arms and sat him on Bane's back. A different Centaur did the same for Astoria, who was sat astride the back of the red-headed Centaur. It was only then that the group of Centaurs started to move forward, slowly at first, but soon almost all Draco could hear was the sound of hooves on the Forest floor.

Draco had his arms around Bane's torso, holding on for dear life. He looked over and saw that Astoria was even more terrified than he was. He wanted to hold her, but he couldn't. He told himself that it would be over soon just as they came to a sudden halt.

"Grawp!" Bane cried out.

In front of them, Draco saw a giant. It was not the first giant he had ever seen, but it was odd to think that one resided in the Forbidden Forest. He was beginning to understand Dumbledore's warnings even better than he had in school. The giant, who was definitely short by the standards set by other giants it seemed, was playing with a three-headed dog which stood at least as tall as Draco, if not taller.

"Bane," the giant, Grawp, grumbled loudly.

"Grawp, go to the other Centaurs," Bane said loudly. "Tell them that _they_ have arrived."

Grawp nodded.

"Fluffy?" he asked simply. Bane sighed.

"Yes, you can take Fluffy," he said loudly. Grawp clapped his hands together and picked up the three-headed dog, putting it under his arms before bounding deeper into the forest, his footsteps booming. "Continue!"

The galloping began again, but within a minute they came to the edge of the forest. When they did, Draco dismounted and looked up at Hogwarts for the first time in five years. It was surprisingly intact. Legend has it that the Dark Lord returned to the castle the day after the Battle and restored it back to its former state with a simple wave of his wand. While Draco was sceptical of this, he couldn't think of any other way in which the castle would have been returned to its original state so quickly and easily.

"We shall leave you here," Bane announced as Draco dismounted. When he did, he saw that they were near the oaf's hut. "We will be here when you return."

"Thank you," Astoria said shakily as she got down off the other Centaur.

"Any hints?" Draco asked, knowing the answer.

"We cannot help you further than we already have," Bane replied, his face stoic. "We may be becoming more involved in the world of Men, but there are still some limits."

Draco said nothing as he took Astoria's hand and started to walk to the castle. He found that they were walking slower than he would have expected. Part of him truly wanted to be back at the school simply because of all the time he actually spent there. It was odd to be at the school when no one else was there though. It was as if there was no life to it anymore, and Draco felt oddly saddened by that thought.

"Where do we start?" Astoria asked as they reached the large oaken doors to the castle.

"The library might be best," Draco said thoughtfully as he opened the doors with ease. There had to be a charm on them to make them so easy to open. "That will take forever though. We don't even know what the stone might be."

He and Astoria had spent weeks looking into the stone, but they could find nothing. No books had anything about it, or the symbol carved into it. They had tried everything with it, from setting it on fire to simply rolling it around in their hands like a die. Nothing seemed to have any effect on it, and it was becoming intensely frustrating.

"We could try the Headmaster's office," Astoria suggested. Draco nodded.

"I'd forgotten about the portraits. If there's anyone who would know what this thing is, it'd be someone who actually ran Hogwarts," he said, impressed. He hadn't given the portraits any thought beforehand.

It took them some time to navigate the halls once again as the five years had numbed their memory somewhat. As they moved about the castle, they soon noticed how empty it actually was. Not only were there no students about, but they didn't spy a single ghost, and all of the paintings in the halls had been vacated. Soon they came to the entrance to the Headmaster's Office, guarded still by the large stone gargoyle. Draco and Astoria looked at each other.

"May we please gain entrance?" Astoria asked the gargoyle, which did not move or give any indication that it would ever move.

"Let us in," Draco said sternly. Nothing happened.

"Please, it's important," Astoria said in her sweetest voice, but the stone gargoyle ignored her.

"Move!" Draco shouted, his voice echoing down the halls. The gargoyle finally moved, but it was only to shake its head.

"There's nothing to be done," Astoria said. "We can't get in."

"I suppose we just go to the library then?" Draco asked.

"Or we could try to get into Ravenclaw Tower. They have a library as well and I've been told that …" Astoria couldn't finish, because she saw that Draco had remembered something.

"The Room of Requirement!" he said loudly, grabbing Astoria's hands. She looked confused.

"The what now?" she asked. Draco laughed.

"The Room of Requirement," he said. "I've used it before. It is a room that gives us whatever you require. I used it when I was plotting against Dumbledore."

"How is it helpful right now?" Astoria asked.

"We can ask it to show us the portrait of Dumbledore," Draco said, pulling Astoria down the hallway. "It might not work, but it has given me everything else I've needed before. This way we can talk to Dumbledore. He's really the only one we need."

Soon they arrived at the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy, and Draco began pacing. _I need to talk to Dumbledore's portrait_, Draco thought to himself while he was pacing. He kept thinking it until he looked up to see a door had formed in the wall. Draco took Astoria's hand and opened the door.

The room inside was small, consisting only of a deep red, velvety couch directed towards a large portrait of a sleeping wizard with a long silvery beard, long silvery hair and a crooked nose. As Draco and Astoria sat on the comfortable couch, Dumbledore seemed to awaken. When Draco looked at him, the old man was smiling, his eyes managing to have a sparkle even in painting form.

"Draco," he said happily. "And miss Astoria Greengrass I suspect. It is nice to have visitors for once. Although it does seem that I'm not in the Headmaster's office anymore."

"It's the Room of Requirement," Draco explained. Dumbledore nodded.

"I'm not Astoria Greengrass anymore, Headmaster," Astoria said timidly. "Draco and I wed in June."

"Ah, well congratulations," Dumbledore said jovially. "I only wish I could have been there. May I ask why you didn't go to the Headmaster's Office?

"It wouldn't open for us," Astoria told him.

"Of course," Dumbledore said, as if he had forgotten something and just remembered. "Unless you are the current Headmaster you need a password, which you don't have."

"There is no current Headmaster," Draco said drily.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed. "From what I've gathered, when Severus Snape was Headmaster he made it so that, in the event of his death, Harry Potter would be treated as acting Headmaster."

"Potter died," Draco said, surprising himself in how sad his words sounded.

"I gathered as much," Dumbledore said sadly. "Why is it you have summoned me?"

"We have something that we don't understand," Draco said, reaching into his pouch and pulling out the stone. "We were hoping that you would."

Draco could tell that Dumbledore recognised the stone the very moment that Draco showed it to him. There was an odd look on the face of the portrait of the old man.

"How did you get that?" Dumbledore asked curtly. With what little Draco knew of the old man, this seemed out of character.

"The Centaurs gave it to me a little over a month ago," Draco replied, equally as curtly. He did not appreciate Dumbledore not being forthcoming.

"The Centaurs?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes widening. "How on Earth did they get it?"

"Can you tell us what it is?" Draco asked impatiently.

"It is the Resurrection Stone," Dumbledore said, not skipping a beat. "One of the three Deathly Hallows."

"The Hallows are a myth," Draco replied with a derisive snort.

"They are not," Dumbledore replied calmly. "I once possessed each of the three, though never all at the same time. I assume you have noticed the mark on the Stone?"

"That has been what has puzzled us most," Astoria said, looking at the mark.

"It is the mark of the Deathly Hallows," Dumbledore explained. "Depending on what you believe about the Deathly Hallows, the mark is either something created by the Peverell brothers, or by Death himself. Personally, I believe it was the Peverell brothers."

"So you're trying to convince me that this Stone is supposed to bring back the dead?" Draco replied. "If I remember correctly, and I think I do given how much my mother told me that damn story, you have to turn it thrice in your hand. Well, I can't tell you how many times I've done that."

"I've done it too," Astoria put in. "Nothing happened."

"Have either of you lost a loved one before?" Dumbledore asked. Astoria shook her head immediately. Draco shook his after contemplating Crabbe. "No. The Resurrection Stone brings back loved ones. You two have not had someone you love die, as such it could not work for you."

"Even if you're right," Draco said. "Why did the Centaurs give it to me?"

"That is curious," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair. "When they gave you the Stone, what did they do?" Draco looked at Astoria, who nodded. Draco took out the parchment.

"We think they told us a prophecy," Draco said. That got the old man's interest, as the face in the portrait came closer. "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord survives through failure, and died in victory. Fire, blood, death. Life. The Turncoat, the Soft-Hearted Manipulator, the Survivor, the Teacher, the Outsider. The Brother, the Face-Changer, the Hunted, the Conspirator and the Believer. Different paths and different lives. Saving and changing. Choices. The wand, the stone, the cloak. Time. The old men and the young women. The train hasn't even left the station. You are only just beginning. O Children. Rejoice …_"

Dumbledore took some time to process this.

"Unfortunately, as a portrait, I can't really think this over rationally," he finally said. "Everything I know came from myself when I was alive. I know of prophecies, as I had been involved in some over the years, but I can't do much with the new information. The first line is all that seems in any way familiar to me. It is similar to another prophecy, one that has already been fulfilled it seems."

"So you can't help us with it?" Draco asked. Dumbledore shook his head.

"Not a great deal," he admitted. "Though you would be wise to look into the other Hallows. They appear to be somewhat important. The Centaurs never did anything that wasn't important."

"How do we do that?" Astoria asked. "We couldn't even work out that we had the Resurrection Stone."

"I take it you have considered the Hogwarts library?" Dumbledore asked. Draco nodded. "I would not bother if I were in your place. I was reading up on them while I had the Invisibility Cloak I never returned them, so they're locked in the Office."

"Well what's the password?" Draco asked. "We'll drop in and pick them up."

"I don't know," Dumbledore admitted. "Severus changed it not long before his death, and I don't know what it is. He also put up anti-summoning wards which, even though he has apparently died, are still going today."

"Well what do we do?" Draco asked, annoyed.

"There is one place you might be able to get some information," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "The old Black Household. I can't reveal to you where it is, unfortunately. It is under a Fidelius Charm. I was the Secret Keeper when I was alive, but I am not any more. You will have to find someone who knows."

"Who would know?" Draco asked.

"Any of the Order of the Phoenix, though I suspect they're all dead aren't they?" Dumbledore asked. When Draco nodded, Dumbledore closed his eyes. Draco thought the older man might cry. "Severus mentioned to me that Tarquin Yaxley managed to get there. If so, that makes him a Secret Keeper by proxy."

"Yaxley is alive," Draco confirmed. "I can ask him."

"If you can get there, the Black family had a vast and dark library," Dumbledore explained. "Look for the Peverell name. Any information about them could be useful."

"Thank you," Astoria said with a smile.

"It's not a problem Mrs Malfoy," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

"I never liked you, Dumbledore," Draco said bluntly, Dumbledore continued to smile. "But I must admit, you have been helpful. I give you my thanks."

"And mine to you," Dumbledore told both Draco and Astoria who looked at the old man curiously. "These days I get so few visitors, and those dusty old Headmasters can be incredibly boring. Though it is amusing when they attempt to play poker." Astoria laughed and Draco feigned a smile.

As they left the Room of Requirement, Astoria suggested they visit the dungeons to see if it was at all possible to get into the Slytherin Common Room. As she was at the school before the Battle began, she knew the password, but she wasn't sure if it had been changed somehow afterwards. When they reached the end of the passageway, Astoria spoke the password.

"Dark Lord," she said, with a hint of disdain in her voice. No one knew just what took the password to get in, but some mechanism had to be in place, because a passage was revealed, which Draco and Astoria followed.

The Common Room was much the same as it had been when Draco had attended Hogwarts. It was like a dungeon, and was tinged with green as a result of the lake outside the thick glass windows. Everything around them Draco knew was paid for by alumni of Hogwarts who wanted the best for the future students, something that was being wasted at that point.

"Wait here a minute," Astoria said before making her way towards the dorm rooms. Like in every other Common Room, if any male tried to enter the female dorms, something would prevent them. So Draco stayed in the Common Room, looking over some of the more intricate items on a table nearby. He couldn't help but consider just staying in the Common Room for the rest of his life. As much as he enjoyed living at Spinner's End, nothing came close to being as much as a home to Draco as the Slytherin Common Room, and it seemed a waste that it was sitting there, uninhabited by anyone or anything besides the odd spider or two.

When Astoria returned, she had with her an old diary of hers and her trunk, which she had shrunk so she could carry in one hand.

"We never had a chance to grab everything when we left," Astoria explained. "They just kind of made us leave, and no one ever came back. I don't think any of my clothes will fit me now, but they might come in handy."

They spent a little more time in the Common Room before finally leaving. They made their way back to the front of the castle. By that time it was dark outside, and the forest loomed in the distance. The Centaurs were true to their word and were waiting at the edge of the forest.

"I hope you found what you were looking for," Bane said as Draco was lifted onto his back.

"It was not a wasted trip," Draco confirmed.

The Centaurs did not stop on the return trip and soon Draco and Astoria were at the edge of the forest once again. The Centaurs watched as Draco and Astoria apparated to Malfoy Manor, where they were greeted by Draco's parents. Lucius seemed genuinely happy to see them, though Narcissa was never happy to see Astoria.

"Mother, I was thinking about the Black side of the family," Draco said. His mother's eyebrows raised slightly.

"What about them?" she asked, not unkindly.

"Seeing as I am, technically, the heir to that House, I was thinking I should have a look around the traditional Black home," Draco said, only partially lying. "I may even move in there should I like it more than Spinner's End."

"I would love to tell you, Draco," Narcissa said, "but I cannot recall the location of the house. All I know is that Dumbledore was using it as the Headquarters for that Order of the Phoenix nonsense. He probably used a Fidelius Charm. As such, I can't reveal the location."

"Wait a moment," Lucius interrupted. Draco wanted to smile, but kept his face even. Astoria, he noticed, did the same. "I remember Yaxley mentioning once that the Granger girl accidentally led him there. I don't remember the exact location, but he would know."

"That would be fantastic, Father," Draco said enthusiastically. "Could you call Yaxley here? I would be very grateful."

"No need for gratitude," Lucius replied. "You are the heir. It is your birthright. I'll Floo Yaxley immediately."

Within minutes, Yaxley was standing in the living room of Malfoy Manor. His face was hard and blunt, but he had a smile that made him look extremely sinister. Though he was beginning to go bald, he continued to keep his blonde hair tied back into a ponytail.

"The Order of the Phoenix's headquarters is located at Number 12, Grimmauld Place," he confirmed to Draco. Draco asked him to write it down, which Yaxley did. "The name is fitting. Grim and old is how I'd describe it. But I'm sure it will suit your needs."

"I do hope so," Draco said with a smile. "My thanks Tarquin."

"It is nothing," Yaxley replied. "If you don't mind, my wife is requesting that I actually help her with dinner for once. She is insisting that she wants to give it a go without the help of the Elves. Crazy."

Lucius and Narcissa laughed obligingly, while Astoria and Draco allowed just a smile.

"It's getting late," Narcissa said when Draco and Astoria were preparing to leave. "Grimmauld Place can wait, surely."

"It could, yes," Draco said, kissing his mother's cheek. "But I'm curious now. I doubt I could sleep without seeing it immediately."

Astoria also kissed Narcissa on the cheek, as was her custom whenever she and Draco left their company. Draco knew that his mother did not enjoy it, but he also knew that she would never state it explicitly.

They soon arrived at where Draco knew Grimmauld Place was. He and Astoria looked at the buildings in front of them with great interest.

"I can only see Numbers 11 and 13," Astoria said.

"I see the same," Draco replied. He knew that it had to be there. After Yaxley told them where it was, his mother confirmed the location herself, having spent a considerable amount of time at the house herself as a visitor as Walburga Black, her aunt, had lived there with her husband Orion. "It has to be there. Mother confirmed it."

"Well, we're not seeing it," Astoria said.

"But we know it's there!" Draco said loudly. "Yaxley told us the location. It's there!"

"Draco, dear, I know that," Astoria said, grasping Draco's arm. "There's something else at work here."

"Damn Yaxley," Draco ranted loudly. "And damn the old fool Dumbledore! Sending us on a fool's quest. Even when he's dead he can't stay out of our lives. We're trying to do something good here and we can't even get that right! What are we meant to do if we can't get the books we need? Go back and talk to the damned portrait again? Ask the Centaurs?"

"I'm not happy about it either," Astoria said quietly. "But you need to calm down a bit. It's late and people might hear you."

"Screw the people!" Draco said angrily. "What are we meant to do? Are we meant to just –" He stopped as something floated down from the sky in front of his eyes. It was a scrap of parchment. Draco reached out and grabbed it roughly. He read it in the light of a nearby street light silently to himself, something his father had taught him to do very early on in life.

_The Hiding Place is located at Number 12, Grimmauld Place_.

The writing was slanted and in cursive, though it was obvious that it was written in haste. Astoria took it from him and read it to herself as well.

Draco looked up and he could see Number 12 as clear as day. Where nothing had been before, there was a house, so close to 11 and 13 that they were touching. Number 12, however, lacked the care and attention that went into Numbers 11 and 13.

"We have to be careful," Draco said quietly, drawing his wand. He watched as Astoria drew hers.

"If they were dangerous, they wouldn't lead us in this way," Astoria pointed out.

"If they're insane they might," Draco said. He advanced on the house slowly. After some time, he reached the front door. He reached for the door handle slowly. It was cool to the touch as he pushed open the door. Barely anything could be seen in the hallway as they entered into it, wands drawn.

"_Lumos_," Astoria murmured, causing her wand to light up. What Draco saw at the end of the hall defied belief.

There stood six people, all with their wands out and pointed at Draco and Astoria. Four women and two men. Draco recognised almost all of them, but stared at them in complete and utter disbelief. _The dead have come to haunt me_, he thought to himself irrationally.

The two tallest were at the back. One was a beautiful woman with long silvery-blond hair, and the other had a scarred face, with long red hair. In front of them stood a small woman with waist-length blonde hair, a taller woman with long red hair, a muscled man with a weather beaten face and short red hair and, finally, a woman with a stern face and bushy brown hair.

"Granger?" Draco asked, the disbelief dripping from his words as he dropped his wand on the ground and raised his hands.


	7. Survival Instincts

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

**Author's Note**

This chapter will have several point of view characters, the changing of which will be indicated by a line and also the name of the character that the story is being shown through. Also, this chapter is basically a flashback chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Survival Instincts**_

"_Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."_  
- Gandalf (J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Fellowship of the Ring")

_**Charlie Weasley**_

_**2**__**nd**__** May, 1998**_

Not long after his mother had managed to somehow kill Bellatrix Lestrange, much to everyone's shock, Charlie Weasley watched, along with everyone else in the Great Hall at the time, as Harry Potter and Voldemort duelled one another for the final time. Charlie stood with his parents, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Luna Lovegood as the two most important wizards in the world fought for control. It was not a particularly intricate duel, truth be told. Harry mostly taunted the dark wizard, goading him into acting foolishly.

Voldemort eventually fired a Killing Curse at Harry, and Harry fired back a Disarming Charm. The simplest of manoeuvres. Charlie couldn't help but wonder if Harry should have used something different.

Somehow, the two spells collided together, lighting up the entire Hall and blinding everyone within for just a moment. When the light disappeared, everyone was able to see the moment that Harry was hit directly in the chest by the green jet of light. Charlie, and everyone else in the Hall, watched Harry Potter's body fly backwards and land on the ground with a thud.

"Love," Charlie had heard Voldemort spit out when Harry's corpse hit the ground. "_LEAVE_!" he bellowed, his voice somehow echoing off every wall in the castle. The Death Eaters in the Great Hall managed to apparate away, leaving Voldemort standing there with a sickening grin on his face.

The Hall was silent, as Voldemort waved his wand silently twice. The second wave caused a torrent of fire to erupt from the end. He stood there just long enough for the Fiendfyre to begin to consume everything within the Great Hall before finally apparating away.

Charlie, who had worked with dragons for so long, acted purely on instinct. Within the space of less than a second, he recognised that they were going to be consumed by fire in an extremely confined space. He whirled on the spot and pointed his wand at the wall closest to him.

"_Bombarda Maxima_!" he shouted loudly, though his voice was drowned out by the screams around him. Charlie roughly grabbed Ginny's arm and thrust her through the hole he had created. He did the same with Luna, and Hermione followed after her, realising what Charlie had done. Charlie looked back at Ron who was trying to move his mother and father.

"RON!" Charlie yelled as loud as he possibly could. "LEAVE THEM!"

Ron turned, tears streaming down his face and ran towards the hole in the wall. Charlie watched as the flames engulfed his mother and father behind Ron. He went through the hole and ran towards the girls, who had gotten a fair distance away. He turned just in time to see Ron, who had almost reached the hole, be engulfed by the flames as well. The flames never left the Great Hall.

When he reached the girls, they were all in tears. Ginny looked at him expectantly, but Charlie could do nothing but shake his head. His little sister fell into his embrace. The four of them stood there for what seemed like hours until Ginny remembered something.

"Bill and Fleur!" she said hastily. "They weren't in there."

"What?" Charlie asked, sickened by the burning smell that was reaching their noses. "Why not?"

"Bill was hit by a curse in the battle," Hermione said quickly, wiping away her tears. "Fleur stayed behind to help him."

"We need to find them," Ginny said fervently. Charlie shook his head.

"You three need to get to Shell Cottage," he said seriously. "It's safe for you there, and you all know where it is. I'll look for Bill and Fleur. Where were they last?"

"Near the History of Magic classroom," Hermione said. Charlie nodded.

"Go to the gate," he told the three girls. "Apparate from there. Hermione, you'll have to take both Ginny and Luna. Can you do that?" Hermione nodded. Charlie kissed Ginny on the forehead and turned and ran for where he remembered the History of Magic classroom was. He found Bill propped up against the door to the classroom and Fleur hovering over him. Bill saw him first.

"What's going on?" he asked drowsily. "What happened? What's burning?"

"We need to go," Charlie said, helping his brother to his feet.

"What 'as 'appened?" Fleur asked pointedly.

"Voldemort killed Harry," Charlie said simply. "Then he set the Great Hall on fire."

"Mum and Dad?" Bill asked suddenly, his eyes now wide open and wild.

"No," Charlie replied. "George was in there too, but I don't know where he was. I got Ginny, Hermione and Luna out. Ron almost made it out."

For the first time in a very long time, Charlie witnessed his brother truly weeping.

"We're going to go to Shell Cottage for now," Charlie told Bill and Fleur. Fleur, who was holding Bill up on the other side nodded appreciatively. She was obviously upset, but she was a Veela, so she knew how to control her emotions when necessary.

The three of them made their way to the gate as quickly as possible. As they walked, they saw several bodies on the ground, but no one living. This worried Charlie a great deal, but at the same time he felt it might be for the best, as there was no one around to see them leave. When they were outside of the gate, he looked to Fleur.

"I'll take Bill," Charlie said. Fleur nodded and was gone in a second with a pop. Charlie clutched his sobbing brother around the waist and turned on the spot. It was not the first time he had apparated with another person, but he had never done it with someone who couldn't at least help the process. When they landed, he found that they were in the living room of Shell Cottage. The dizziness from the apparation caused him to fall to the ground with Bill falling backwards into the couch behind him.

Charlie sat up and looked around the room. Fleur had swiftly made her way to Bill's side, her eyes only now filling with tears. Ginny was sobbing into Hermione's shoulder. Hermione was no better. Luna was sitting on the floor in front of one of the armchairs, her knees drawn up to her face and her head in her hands. Charlie felt himself fall back to the ground again and he, too, found himself weeping.

* * *

_**Ginny Weasley**_

_**7**__**th**__** May, 1998**_

Shell Cottage was too small. This had become apparent after the first night there. It had only three bedrooms for six people. Ginny Weasley and Hermione slept together in a double bed, Bill and Fleur slept in another, Luna slept in one by herself unless she was having particularly bad dreams and Charlie had taken the couch downstairs.

No one in the house had said anything about it though. Not that a lot had been said at all. The Weasleys had lost both of their parents and four of their brothers all in the same day, Hermione had lost most of the people she loved in the world and Luna had lost some of her best friends. The feeling of loss completely overshadowed the fact that Voldemort had won. In fact, Ginny rarely found herself thinking about that fact. All she seemed to be able to think about was Harry being hit by that hideous green curse and the smell of the Great Hall burning.

Four days after they had returned to Shell Cottage, Fleur decided that it was best to call on her family in France and inform them of what had happened in Britain. Bill offered to go with her, but Ginny could tell that he would not be the best thing for Fleur's family to see, and it seemed that Fleur agreed. Somehow, Fleur managed to look as beautiful as ever even after so much had happened. Ginny wanted to feel some kind of resentment towards her sister-in-law, but she knew the truth. Even if someone is part-Veela they are taught early on in life how to avoid emotional stress. If they weren't, the results could be catastrophic.

Fleur had been gone for almost a full day. In the meantime, Hermione and Luna stepped up to the plate and put together the meals for the day. Most of the group could hardly eat. Charlie was the only one that didn't eat a thing. Ginny knew why. When he saved them all from the fire, he had stayed behind while she, Hermione and Luna ran. _He must have seen them burn_, Ginny thought to herself, bringing tears to her eyes once again.

When Fleur returned she looked relieved. She told them all about what the French magical government was doing to hold back the threat of Voldemort. Her parents decided that the Fidelius Charm would be best for their home. Fleur, however, could not convince them or Gabrielle that Gabrielle should be tutored at home, as opposed to attending Beauxbatons. She was worried, and Ginny silently agreed, that Voldemort would attack another school like he did with Hogwarts. Her parents had not relented, so Fleur had visited with Madam Maxime who assured her that the very best people that the French Ministry could spare would be stationed at the school and that there are safety protocols in place should an attack happen.

"She told me," Fleur said to the group, "that Beauxbatons would not fight against You-Know-Who. They will force everyone to flee if ze worst 'appens."

Everyone in the room nodded, but no one spoke.

"My parents 'ave also offered to let us live with them," Fleur said tentatively.

"No," Hermione said vehemently. "No. I won't leave Britain until I see that bastard's rotting corpse at my feet and those that follow him locked away or dead."

Ginny nodded along with all of the other people in the room, even Luna. Fleur smiled.

"I 'ad guessed," she said.

"We can't all stay here," Ginny said, voicing everyone else's thoughts. "It's too small for six people."

"We have nowhere else," Hermione pointed out. This was the most she had spoken since the Battle. "We can't go to the Burrow. It's not safe enough. Luna's house is in ruins. Hogwarts wouldn't be safe. Someone else is living in my old home."

"What about Grimmauld Place?" Charlie asked. "I wasn't there much, but it's big enough." Hermione shook her head.

"I accidentally took Yaxley there when we were on the run," she said. Ginny noted that she was avoiding names. "The Death Eaters can get at it."

"Fidelius," Bill said quietly. Bill had been the hardest hit of the Weasleys it seemed to Ginny, and had barely spoken at all.

"Yes," Hermione confirmed. "I'm a Secret Keeper by proxy, so Yaxley knows now."

"No," Bill said, his eyes filling with life for the first time since everything happened. "We do a second Fidelius charm. Whenever someone does one, they make the boundaries of it a bit further than they strictly need to. Erring on the side of caution."

"Is there room to make another big enough?" Hermione asked, with a shade of her old self. If Ginny had felt physically able, she might have smiled.

"I think so," Bill said. "I know how to do the charm. I did a few for the Order."

"Will you stay with us?" Luna asked, interjecting herself into the conversation for the first time. Bill looked at Fleur.

"I think eet would be for ze best," Fleur said. Bill nodded. It seemed to Ginny that it didn't matter either way to him. Ginny felt that she would prefer to have her brothers with her at all times. She wanted to know that they wouldn't die.

"I'll check it out now," Charlie said immediately. Everyone started to protest but he shook his head. "If there's someone there, I'm the least important person to be lost. I know a lot about dragons and fire, but I'm not great at everything else. I know that. The rest of you are better at more practical things."

"Apparate onto the front step, open the door, use _Homenum Revelio_ and apparate out," Bill said seriously. "Don't take any chances. If no one's there, we'll all go there and I'll set up the new Fidelius."

Charlie nodded, stood up and turned on the spot. Ginny watched him disappear, fearing that she would never see him again. She sat there, wringing her hands. A minute later, Charlie reappeared again with a slight popping sound.

"It's clear," he said. Ginny hugged her brother, much to his surprise.

Not long after that, they all made their way to Grimmauld Place. Charlie went first again. Bill went next with Ginny, who wished she knew how to apparate. Fleur followed them, and then Hermione came last with Luna. Just to make sure that everything was safe, Charlie, Bill and Hermione all performed the revealing charm again, which came up negative. After that, they entered into the living room area, where Ginny saw a familiar face.

"Kreacher!" Hermione said in surprise.

"You live," he said, surprised. "Master is dead, but you live."

It was the first time anyone had fully said out loud that Harry was dead, and it hit everyone in the room hard. Ginny's heart broke just a little more.

"Y-yes," Hermione said shakily. "We need to stay here. It's important."

"Kreacher will serve you," Kreacher replied after a moment. "Mistress was good to Kreacher, and Kreacher remembers."

Not wanting to waste any time, Ginny watched as Bill got ready.

"This is going to take a lot out of me," Bill said, raising his wand with his right hand and extending his left. "Probably more so since there's already an existing Fidelius on the house. Who's going to be the Secret Keeper?"

"I will," Hermione said without any hesitation. Ginny agreed with the idea. If there was anyone who would never betray them, it would be Hermione Granger. Even if she had the Cruciatus curse given to her by ten people, she wouldn't say it. Of that Ginny was sure.

"Fine," Bill said. "Take my hand. You need to really think about what this place is, and where it is. That all comes from you. I'm just doing the wards essentially. When this is over, I may pass out. If I do, make sure that everyone knows exactly where they are. If they don't, it could be problematic."

"I will," Hermione confirmed. Ginny wondered if Hermione already knew all this from her reading, but it was possible that the Fidelius was far too advanced, even for the Hogwarts library.

For the next five minutes, Bill spoke a stream of words incomprehensible to Ginny. Occasionally she would see something come from the end of his wand, like the air around a fire. Ginny watched on unblinkingly. When he finally finished saying the incantations, Bill looked at Hermione and smiled before his eyes closed and he fell to the floor.

Bill didn't wake for nearly a week.

* * *

_**Bill Weasley**_

_**28**__**th**__** May, 1998**_

"There's only so much we can do without money," Bill Weasley told the group. "We need to get some somehow."

When Bill had awoken, he found that both Fidelius charms were in good health, which had been a great relief to him. He had been sure that he could perform the charm even though one already existed, but there was still that niggling feeling of doubt that even a Curse Breaker couldn't shake away. He had not expected that he would be out cold for as long as he was, but it was a price he was willing to pay.

Now, having exhausted the supplies of food they found within Number Twelve, they were looking to other avenues just to survive.

"I can go get a job," Hermione insisted.

"The Ministry will be looking for your name everywhere, even if they think you're dead," Bill pointed out. "A Hermione Granger working in the Muggle world would be too conspicuous."

"I'll use a fake name," Hermione said fervently. Bill shook his head.

"If you did that, you would be exposing yourself to being seen by anyone and everyone," he said. "If the wrong person saw you, you would be dead in a heartbeat."

"Well what's your plan then?" Hermione asked stubbornly. "Stealing from innocent people?"

"No," Bill replied shortly. "Gringotts."

"I've broken in there once, and I have no plan to do it again," Hermione said, annoyed. Bill rolled his eyes.

"I used to work there," he pointed out. It seemed to dawn on Hermione. "I have friends who work there. I know for a fact that Harry left everything he owned to our family in the case of his death. I filed the paperwork on that one. There are two vaults full of money we could have access to. Harry's and the Black family's. Not to mention the Weasley vault, although that one is a little small."

"Wait, the Black family's?" Ginny asked aloud. Bill nodded.

"When Sirius did up his will, he left everything to Harry," he explained. "Since he was, technically, the heir to House Black, Sirius owned the family vault. He deliberately left that to Harry, though I don't know if Dumbledore told Harry this. Either way, Harry left everything of his to us."

"But Gringotts will be under his rule," Charlie said. Everyone in the room knew who he was talking about. Bill nodded.

"By this point I imagine so," he replied. "But I know the goblins better than most. None of them want to be ruled by anyone. Under the Ministry, they were not entirely happy, but they had no reason to rebel as they had done in the past. They know who he is, and they oppose him, I assure you. I can meet with Rokbarl. He liked me well enough when I was there and he's high enough to get us Muggle money, but no so high up that he would ever be targeted."

"You _are_ a Gryffindor, right?" Ginny asked. Everyone laughed, which Bill thought was a sweet sound.

"A lot of Curse Breakers are Slytherin," Bill said with a shrug. "You pick things up from time to time."

Fleur was very opposed to Bill going to Gringotts, but he insisted on going. When she had realised that he would not relent, she offered to accompany him as well. Bill only smiled.

"Most men find it difficult not to look at you," he said. He kissed her. "I want to not be seen and you would definitely be seen."

The following morning, he apparated into Diagon Alley right on the steps leading up to Gringotts. Barely anyone was around, but Bill kept his hood up nonetheless. He knew that the doors to the bank would be closed this early, but having worked there he knew a thing or two about it. He went to the side of the building, and touched a brick with his wand. The wall moved apart, revealing a side door which he opened. He was slightly surprised to see that he was still keyed into that particular entrance.

The room he found himself in was familiar to him, as he spent most of the time he had worked at Gringotts in this room. It was a small room, full of tables and chairs. On one chair sat a lone goblin.

"William Weasley," the goblin said, unsurprised.

"Hello Harrock," Bill said in reply courteously.

"You are supposed to be dead," Harrock said bluntly. "I see the facts are greatly exaggerated. Though those of your run-in with Fenrir Greyback were not." Bill touched his face and smiled.

"It's not so bad," he said. "A few raw steaks every now and then and I'm golden. What makes you believe that I was dead?"

"You-Know-Who released a list of the dead from the Battle of Hogwarts," Harrock said, throwing a newspaper to Bill. "It's all in there. I won't ask how you survived. Not my problem. Why are you here?"

Bill looked at the newspaper, which had an image of Voldemort on the front page.

"I need to see Rokbarl," he said. He somewhat trusted Harrock, but he felt that Rokbarl was better for the job. Harrock nodded and left the room. Bill sat down in his old chair and waited until Rokbarl showed up. The conversation went much the same way as with Harrock, but soon came to the point.

"I need money," Bill told Rokbarl.

"This is strictly against the new regulations, you understand?" Rokbarl said. Bill nodded.

"Regulations that I'm sure you goblins are not very fond of," Bill replied.

"Indeed not," Rokbarl said, malice in his voice. "It seems as though we are only still alive because he needs a bank. I never thought I would see the day that the goblin community would wish to have Cornelius Fudge again."

"Can you help me?" Bill asked. Rokbarl nodded.

"I assume you'll be needing the money in Muggle currency?" he asked and Bill nodded. "From all three vaults?"

"Weasley, Potter and Black," Bill confirmed. "It might be best if we could empty them."

"In that case, there may be something simpler we can do," Rokbarl replied. "Before the downfall of society, we were working on a way for people who have need of Muggle money to have better access to it more easily. We took the idea from Muggle credit cards."

Rokbarl reached into a desk and pulled out a card of some description. He put it into a box, put his hand on top and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he reached in and pulled the card out again.

"These are designed to be used within the Muggle world wherever it is possible," Rokbarl said, showing Bill the card. "It can also be used in Muggle Automatic Teller Machines to take money out if cash is necessary. It will simply be deducted from the vaults here at Gringotts. If you wish to see how much you have remaining, simply tap the card with your wand and say the word 'total'." Bill took out his wand.

"Total," he said and a number came up on the back of the card in black. Bill almost fainted. "Bloody hell."

"The Blacks were very wealthy," Rokbarl said with an ugly smile. "And the Potters were quite well off as well. It will always show up in Galleons, though when used at one of those Muggle machines, it will show how much is left in Muggle currency."

"And all the money is safe?" Bill asked. Rokbarl nodded.

"You-Know-Who attempted to gain access to the Black family vault, but we told him specifically that the vault is not accessible to anyone but the rightful owner," he replied, with another smile, baring his somewhat sharp teeth. "I think that it must not be all that important to him, because he didn't even kill one of us when he was told."

"But could he get at it if he tried?" Bill asked insistently.

"It's possible, yes," Rokbarl said reluctantly.

"What if I had all the money from the Potter and Black vaults transferred into the Weasley vault?" Bill asked. The goblin smiled again. "He knows that the Weasley family was poor, so he wouldn't go looking there."

"Impressive," Rokbarl replied. "It shall be done. Was there anything else?"

"Is there any way that I could get the _Daily Prophet _daily without anyone knowing?" Bill asked, holding up the paper in his lap. "It might be good for me to have it."

"You aren't alone, are you?" Rokbarl asked. Bill smiled.

"I wish I could tell you," he said. Rokbarl nodded.

"I will leave a copy outside of that door every morning," Rokbarl said as kindly as a goblin could. "You can pick it up from there. It's very out of the way, and if you keep your hood up you won't be noticed."

"Thank you Rokbarl," Bill said sincerely, shaking the goblin's hand. "For everything."

When Bill returned to Grimmauld Place, he told everyone everything. When he showed them the total of how much money they had access to, it was the happiest moment they had had since the Battle.

* * *

_**Luna Lovegood**_

_**27**__**th**__** August, 2000**_

The two years following the Battle of Hogwarts had been somewhat long for the six occupants of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Luna Lovegood, in particular, found it difficult to acclimatise to life away from her home or from Hogwarts. It did help that Hermione and Ginny were there, and it was nice to have others there as well, though Bill and Fleur were spending increasingly large amounts of time at Shell Cottage. They always showed up in the morning, because Bill would always have the _Daily Prophet_. When he finished reading it, Hermione was always the first to read it herself.

The _Prophet_ had changed substantially since Voldemort took over. Rita Skeeter, much to the chagrin of Hermione, had taken over as Editor of the newspaper, and everything they printed was so obviously done with a political bias, which was to be expected given the way Voldemort ran the Ministry. Most of what was written in there was information regarding any and all executions taking place, as well as changes within the legislation of the new Ministry. It also managed to announce with great pride whenever someone new took the Dark Mark and became an "elite member of the Dark Lord's Death Eaters". Not a single mention of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack could be seen anywhere, which upset Luna.

In fact, she had begun to get upset whenever she thought of all the old creatures that she and her father used to look for. She did not know at all what had happened to her father. Hermione told her that he was likely taken by the Death Eaters when he tried to turn her, Harry and Ron in to Voldemort. If that was the case, Luna assumed that he was likely in Azkaban which chilled her to the bone. When Voldemort took over, he stationed the Dementors back at the prison and the thought of her father having the happiness sucked out of him over time, made her cry. She sometimes just assumed that he was dead. It was easier that way.

Every so often, there would be an announcement of an execution of someone that they knew. In September of 1998, Oliver Wood was executed along with some of his old Quidditch teammates. In April of 1999, Susan Bones was due to be executed, but she managed to somehow get away and there had been no word of her since. The _Prophet_ had expressed outrage over her getting away, but did not give details. In December that same year, Augusta Longbottom was found and executed by Voldemort himself. The Longbottom family had been one of the most prestigious lines in wizarding history, and it did not surprise Luna that Voldemort would find great pleasure in extinguishing it like he thought he had done to the Weasley family line.

Most recently, only a month prior, the Ministry found Professor Trelawney holed up in her office in the Divination Tower of Hogwarts. No one had known how she had remained there so long undetected, but she had nonetheless. Again, Voldemort himself was involved in that particular execution. Hermione suggested that it was likely because she was the unlucky soul to voice the prophecy that almost led to the downfall of Voldemort himself.

Luna woke early, as she usually did, and found Ginny studying a book in the kitchen. It was a book that they had found in the extensive Black library, which focused on Healers. For the last year, Ginny had immersed herself in the art of Healing, which was probably for the best. As a group they had decided early on that there was not much they could do as they were, so they decided to learn everything they could before deciding to actually take on the Ministry again. Everyone was learning a bit of everything, but everyone found themselves drawn to a specialty.

Bill spent most of his time focusing on the spells that most Aurors used. As a Curse Breaker, they came easier for him than for anyone else. Charlie focused on offensive spells, even going so far as learning how to cast the Killing Curse. He had done it successfully several times when there was no target, and he had told the group that it was the second worst feeling he had ever experienced. No one had to guess what the first was. Hermione focused on defensive spells and history, which she kept telling everyone was extremely important. Fleur focused her efforts on charms, becoming very proficient very quickly as she was already fantastic. Ginny found that she was drawn to healing. Luna's specialty was different. She did spend some time on Transfiguration spells, but she found herself reading up more and more on the subject of Divination, something which the others did not fully understand.

While Ginny read her book, Luna started breakfast with the help of Kreacher. He would have done it on his own, Luna did not doubt, but she liked to help him. The House Elf was old, but loyal. They had found a supermarket nearby where they bought everything they could possibly need. Because it isn't very far out of the way, everyone agreed that it was safe to go there. Number Twelve was not being watched since there was no reason for it to be inhabited at all.

As a result, the ancestral home of the Black family had been turned into a much more welcoming home that even Muggles could have lived in. Hermione had even suggested a television, which went over well. Of course, the painting of Walburga Black was not very accepting, but Bill had found a spell in one of the books he was studying from that allowed him to remove the painting from the wall. They stored her in the attic, with several thick sheets covering her. The only time they could hear her was when it was particularly quiet, and even then her screams and protests were barely recognisable.

Luna heard the fireplace in the living room flare up. This was usual as there was only a link between Number Twelve, Shell Cottage and Fleur's parents' home in France, which Bill had set up to get around the Ministry restrictions. Bill and Fleur were the only visitors they ever had apart from Gabrielle from time to time. When Bill walked in, he had a grave look on his face.

"You need to see this, Luna," he said sombrely. Luna gave the spatula to Kreacher as she took the paper from Bill. On the very front page was a headline that made her heart fall.

_XENOPHILIUS LOVEGOOD DISCOVERED AND EXECUTED_

_by Rita Skeeter_

_Yesterday afternoon was a momentous occasion for the Ministry of Magic as there was an execution of a major criminal, on the run after escaping the grasp of Death Eaters when being escorted to Azkaban prison._

_Xenophilius Lovegood, the insane former editor of _The Quibbler_, was found guilty in 1998 of misleading the Dark Lord into believing that he knew something about the whereabouts of then-fugitive Harry Potter. Lovegood used the taboo word to summon the Death Eaters, claiming that he had Potter with him. When they arrived on the scene, no sign of Potter could be found. As a result, he was arrested and taken into custody._

_Lovegood was held by the Death Eaters until the day following the successful "Battle of Hogwarts", when he was due to be moved to Azkaban prison to serve a life sentence, along with sixteen other captives. Whilst they were being moved, Lovegood escaped the grasp of an unnamed Death Eater and managed to apparate away. Since that day, Lovegood has been in hiding from the Ministry._

_Yesterday, Lovegood led an attack on the Ministry with twenty other conspirators. They managed to kill three innocent civilians and injured well over a dozen before they were apprehended. The Dark Lord himself oversaw the execution of the twenty conspirators, the vast majority of whom were Muggleborns who had gone into hiding following the implementation of new laws in 1997. The Dark Lord himself executed Lovegood, ending that particular family line, as he has done with so many before._

_FOR AN IN-DEPTH LOOK, SEE PAGE 9_

"I'm so sorry Luna," Bill said, putting an arm around her. Luna looked at the article, tears forming in her eyes. Ginny took the paper for herself and read.

"I thought Daddy was dead anyway," Luna said, her voice wavering. "It's … It's nice to know for sure."

She broke down then, crying into Bill's shoulder.

After a while, there was silence in the kitchen. By that time, everyone was awake and there.

"We actually have an announcement," Bill said when Luna was finished crying.

"I'm pregnant," Fleur said, a smile on her beautiful face. Luna even smiled.

* * *

_**Fleur Weasley**_

_**3**__**rd**__** May, 2001**_

Fleur Weasley lay in her bed in her childhood home in France. Next to her sat her husband and father of her newborn baby girl. Fleur was looking at the intensely beautiful face of the one day old baby that she could scarcely believe was her own. There was no denying whose child she was. She had been born with exactly the same hair colour as her mother, and whenever Fleur looked at her, there was something of Bill in her as well. She could barely stop looking at her, and when she did it was to look at Bill, who Fleur knew was looking at their baby girl with exactly the same awe and love.

It was an instant reaction for them. The pregnancy had gone off without a hitch and the birth was performed by Ginny with the help of Fleur's mother Apolline. Bill, Hermione and Luna had also been with Fleur when it happened. Charlie had decided that it would be best to stay with Fleur's father, Alphonse, who was never good with this kind of thing, and Gabrielle, who Apolline declared was too young for such things even though she was almost fifteen.

Bill and Fleur were alone at that moment, though, and were basking in the glow of their newborn baby. They had not yet decided on a name. They had tossed around a few. Molly. Nymphadora. Minerva. As much as Fleur liked those names, they didn't seem right to her. There was something about naming your child after a dead person that felt like it was tempting fate, no matter how much that person meant. She could tell that Bill felt the same way as well.

"'ow is she?" Gabrielle asked. She had appeared in the room seemingly silently. Fleur and her parents had decided to speak in English while everyone was with them as it made things easier. Fleur beamed at her little sister.

"She is an angel," Fleur said. In the years since the Battle, Fleur's accent had all but disappeared. "Would you like to hold her?" Gabrielle nodded and moved to sit on the bed next to Fleur. When she did, Fleur softly handed the baby to her.

"Watch the head," Bill said kindly. Fleur knew that he was worried, but he was always so good with Gabrielle that she knew he would never show it. Gabrielle shifted her arm so that the baby's head was at a good angle.

"She needs a name," Fleur said to Bill as she put her arm around him and hugged him close.

"How about Victoire?" Hermione said from the door. Fleur looked up at her with an upraised eyebrow. "I know a little French."

"Don't you think that's a little … wrong given the day she was born?" Bill asked Hermione. Even though it had been the anniversary of the downfall of wizarding society, no one had thought all that much about it with the baby coming.

"I think it's perfect," Fleur said, reaching over and touching the baby's check. "She is not named for the downfall, but for the victory to come."

No one spoke for a while, but Bill squeezed her.

"We will win," Fleur said softly. "We must. For Victoire."

_**17**__**th**__** July, 2003**_

For the second time in her life, Fleur was looking at a newborn baby that she couldn't believe was her own. Louis Weasley was the perfect baby boy, who had his father's red hair. She was sitting in a lounge chair with Louis in her arms and Victoire next to her. Victoire was entranced by her baby brother almost as much as her mother was.

Fleur and Bill and discussed, following the birth of Victoire, what they would do about future children. Both had been worried about what would happen to their children in the world that they found themselves in. They were worried enough about Victoire, let alone another child. But, eventually they realised that they couldn't allow Voldemort to dictate their lives. They both wanted children, and there was no way they would let one man change that.

And so it was that they had their second child, a healthy young boy. This birth seemed to be easier than the first. Fleur knew that it was mostly because she had gone through childbirth before, but she also couldn't help but recognise how well Ginny was doing. When Fleur announced that she was pregnant the first time, Ginny had immediately researched childbirth so that she could help in any way she could. The first time, Apolline had been there to help her, but this time Fleur had not been in France and Ginny had to deliver the baby all by herself, and she had done a wonderful job.

As they had with Victoire, Fleur and Bill had discussed several names. Mostly names of men they had lost. Arthur. Fred. George. Percy. Ron. Harry. The list went on and on, with no end in sight. In the end, they had decided on the name Louis. Fleur had learned all about the history of France, and the name Louis had always stuck with her for that reason. Bill had agreed straight away, with no hesitation.

When she was getting ready to take Louis to see his grandparents and aunt for the first time, Luna came to her. Luna brushed her finger along Louis' cheek lightly.

"He is very beautiful," she said airily, in that way that she had. Fleur nodded.

"He is perfect," she agreed.

"Today was my Daddy's birthday," Luna said, slightly sadly. "I always remember because Daddy never did. I had to keep reminding him."

"I'm sorry," Fleur said. Luna smiled.

"It's okay," she replied. "It's not Daddy's birthday anymore. It's Louis'. That is more important now."

With that, Luna made her way out of the room. Fleur was not sure how to react to that.

* * *

_**Hermione Granger**_

_**6**__**th**__** November, 2003**_

"I put a tracking spell on him," Bill told Hermione. Fleur was putting the kids to sleep and Luna, Ginny and Charlie were all watching television.

"It was definitely Greyback?" Hermione asked. Bill nodded.

"I am absolutely certain," he said, pointing to his scars. "I definitely remember the man who gave me these."

"What a day to decide to go into Diagon Alley," Hermione said, impressed. "This is the first thing we've been able to do in years."

"Greyback is only a cog in You-Know-Who's plan," Bill pointed out. They had still not worked out whether or not the taboo worked when a house was under the Fidelius charm, so they didn't take any risks.

"Yes, and if we stop one cog from working, the whole thing stops," Hermione said. She was positively giddy with excitement. Over the years her bloodlust had gotten less and less, but Hermione had not forgotten the atrocities.

"We kill him?" Bill asked. He snorted. "It's what he deserves. The amount of people he's attacked over the years is beyond counting by this point."

"No," Hermione said. "Harry wouldn't have killed him. I know he wouldn't have. Neither would Dumbledore. All we have to do is make life difficult for him, and he'll start to give up."

"I think you might be underestimating him," Bill put in. "This is Fenrir Greyback. That thing has no conscience. If he does, it's been buried under so much blood that it would drown itself if it tried to get out."

"As eloquent as that is," Hermione teased, "even Greyback can get annoyed. If we stick with it, maybe he'll stop. He has the power to influence almost the whole werewolf community. Certainly the ones that are sided with You-Know-Who. If he stops, maybe that stops more."

"I don't know about that," Bill said sceptically. "He attacked me when he wasn't even in his wolf form. For him to have to resort to that … it's unthinkable."

"It's more than we've been able to do for the last five years," Hermione said angrily. Her eyes were blazing, and her heart palpitating. Bill sighed.

"We'll give it a go," he said finally. "But it's not going to be just you. I'll come with you. So will Charlie, Ginny and Luna. Fleur will go to her parents', at least this time. "When's the next full moon?"

Hermione called in Ginny, Luna and Charlie. They were discussing it when Fleur came downstairs. She took some convincing, but she came around to the idea of having to stay at her parents' home in France. The others, after the discussion, went in to watch television. Charlie stayed behind. Hermione put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"Thanks for the support," she told him. He smiled.

"I couldn't very well disagree with you, could I?" he asked, earning him a slap on the arm. A playful slap, but a slap nonetheless. Hermione and Charlie had come to form a strong bond in the last year or so. Hermione knew that it was likely because of the conditions they were in, but she couldn't deny that the feelings were there.

She often wondered whether it had something to do with the fact that she lost Ron. In the end, however, she came to the conclusion that, as much as she loved Ron, she was not in love with him. Her feelings for Charlie were entirely different, so she rarely, if ever, felt bad because she was replacing Ron with him.

Over the next few days, they refined their plan. They knew that Greyback was planning to attack a Muggleborn boy since Bill had followed him whenever he could. Bill had found Mad-Eye Moody's old invisibility cloak and put it to good use. Every night, Greyback seemed to go to the same street corner and watch the same house. Bill had reported to Hermione that the house was home to a new family in the neighbourhood and that they had a young boy, Matt.

"Shouldn't we warn them?" Ginny asked, concerned for the little boy. Hermione shook her head, although she was concerned as well.

"We have to take him unawares," Hermione explained.

"Besides," Charlie said, "what exactly would we say to them? 'Hi, we're secretly magical and we have reason to believe that your son will be mauled to death by a werewolf with a bloodlust for small children'? I'm sure that would go down well."

"No need for that," Ginny said sourly. Charlie smiled.

"Just a joke, Ginny dear," he said, sounding a lot like Fred and George, Hermione thought. "I thought the mood could be lightened is all."

The afternoon of the full moon, there was a slight hitch.

"Hermione," Bill said, coming into the room with a concerned look on his face. "Tonight wouldn't happen to be a total lunar eclipse would it?"

"I think it is, actually," Hermione replied. She was reading a book about werewolves, but closed it. "Why do you ask?"

"Okay, bit of a problem," Bill said worriedly. "A total lunar eclipse plays havoc with spells like the tracking spell. No one knows why, but when it happens, the spells go haywire. In the hours leading up to the eclipse, the spell goes in and out of working. As it gets closer, it won't work at all."

"Oh god," Hermione said, her heart racing quickly. "Can you tell where he is right now?"

"Last I checked he was somewhere in the woods near the town," Bill said. "I'd be willing to bet that's where he'll stay. He will want the kid to be found in the morning."

"What do we do?" Hermione asked, panicking. "Do we go now?"

"Too risky," Bill said. "If we go now, Greyback's bound to notice one of us. He knows what all of us look like, except maybe Charlie. Daytime is bad for us."

Hermione spent the next few hours as a nervous wreck. Before, she was so sure that they had the upper hand, but she had not counted on her own oversight being their downfall. Charlie tried a few times to calm her down, but she only snapped at him. She felt bad about that afterwards, but he didn't look upset or angry. He actually kind of smiled.

When the time came, they saw Fleur and the kids off as they Floo'd to France. After that, they all disapparated and appeared on the street where Bill had seen Greyback those few times. The sun was only just setting as the five of them walked towards the woods near the town.

They were there for a while with no sign of Greyback. Bill confirmed that, when the full moon rose, he couldn't tell where Greyback actually was, so they had to rely on their own skills. After a while, they heard other people arrive. They hid in the shadows and watched as the police and some of the locals started a search of their own. Luna stepped forward.

"Oh, hello," she said quickly. Within a second she had a gun pointed at her. "We're here to help." She gestured and Hermione moved quickly into sight of the others, followed by Bill, Charlie and Ginny.

"Who are you?" A woman asked. Hermione guessed that it was the boy's mother, just based on Bill's description.

"We're travelling through," Hermione said. "We overheard someone talking about a child being lost in the forest, so we thought we would help. We didn't know who to tell, so we just went about it."

"Oh, thank you!" the woman cried. "My son is out here somewhere. Please find him!" Hermione was suddenly very grateful of a mother's love for their children, because she was also very aware of the guns the policemen were pointing at them.

"We'll try," Luna assured her. Hermione didn't know how, but Luna's words seemed to calm the woman.

"We're going to go that way," Charlie said, pointing to the west. "We will come back if we find anything." The policemen nodded, and the family looked relieved. When they were on the move again, Hermione turned to Charlie.

"Why this way?" she asked. Charlie pointed at the ground. The ground was somewhat ruffled, as though someone had been through that point. "Someone's been here. Could be anyone, but it's all we've got."

They searched fruitlessly for hours, and soon it was two in the morning. Hermione was feeling horrid by that point. She could have warned the parents, but instead she just had to target Greyback. She could have prevented this. In her mind she could see the mangled body of the boy, who looked eerily like Harry did when they first met. She shook her head as tears came to her eyes.

Suddenly there was a howl. It wasn't close, but it was something.

"Shh," Bill said, and everyone stopped. "Follow me, but don't go too fast. You'll make too much noise."

There was another howl, closer this time, but from a different direction. Bill gestured and they followed. They came to the clearing just in time to see a dark-skinned woman run at the wolf, who had pinned down a little boy. She shoulder-tackled the wolf, but tripped and fell and in a flash, the wolf was on her, biting at her leg. To their right they heard someone scream.

"_Stupefy_!" the woman yelled, and the spell hit the wolf, which backed off a little.

After that, everyone in their group pointed their wands at the wolf and fired off whatever spell came to mind. For Hermione it was the conjunctivitis curse, which blinded Greyback. The other spells hit him, and he scampered off. Hermione ran over to where the woman lay on the ground, blood coming from the deep wound on her leg. She was shocked to see that it was Angelina Johnson. She noted that Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet were there as well. For some reason, this angered her more.

She ran off in the direction that the wolf had scampered off. When she saw it again, she fired another curse at it. Then another one. And another. Each spell was more violent than the last. She kept doing firing curses until Bill finally caught up to her and grabbed her around the waist. She swore as she watched Greyback run away into the distance. Hermione wanted to chase after himeven more, but Bill pulled her away and apparated them both back to the clearing.

When they got there, Hermione calmed down enough to survey the scene. Angelina's wound had been closed, likely by one of Ginny's many potions or salves. She was, however, passed out. Luna was holding the bawling ten year old who had a rather nasty looking scratch on his arm. She ran to Charlie, who held her.

"We need to get her to Grimmauld Place," Ginny said seriously. "I've closed the wound, but it will be painful for her when she wakes up. Hermione, do you have the address?"

Hermione pulled the piece of paper out of her beaded bag and gave it to Ginny.

"We are putting a lot of trust in you here," Ginny told Alicia and Katie very seriously. "Don't betray us."

"We won't," Alicia assured her. Ginny handed over the piece of paper.

"Memorise that," she said. She then looked to Bill. "I need the portkey. We won't be able to apparate her there." Bill gave it to her, and Ginny counted down. "Three, two, one." She was gone in an instant.

"Charlie, can you get these two to Grimmauld Place?" Bill asked his brother. Charlie nodded, squeezed Hermione once and then went to Alicia and Katie.

"Apparate with me," he said, taking both of their arms. "I know where to go, but it'll help if you two help me." They nodded and in a swift second they were gone, leaving Hermione with Bill, Luna and the sobbing little boy.

"We're going to need to keep him under observation as well you know," Bill told Hermione.

"I know. We'll just tell his parents everything we should have told them in the first place," Hermione responded with a pained look on her face as she looked at the deep cut on the boys arm that Ginny had not had time to heal. "And do it quickly. Greyback could be headed for them. Can we get something to try and stop his bleeding?"

Luna took off her jacket and cast a cutting spell on one of the sleeves.

"I just need to tie this around your cut," she told the boy kindly. He nodded and Luna tied the arm of her jacket around his arm as best she could. Bill then took Matt from Luna and hoisted him up. He apparated with him to an area he knew was close to where the boy's parents would be. Hermione and Luna did the same.


	8. Trust and Understanding

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Trust and Understanding**_

"_Trust is like a mirror. You can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that mother fucker's reflection.__"_  
- Lady Gaga

_**Draco Malfoy**_

_**10**__**th**__** November, 2003**_

"Kick your wands to us," Granger said quickly. Draco kicked his over almost immediately and she picked it up. His hands were still raised in the air.

"We won't be able to see," Astoria pointed out, her wand still in her hand.

"_Lumos_," Fleur Delacour said quickly. Draco knew it was Fleur. It could only be her. Draco watched as Astoria put her wand on the floor and then kicked it to Granger as well. When she had pocketed the two wands, she looked back at them.

"Safety precaution," she said simply. "Can I assume that you both only have the one?"

"Yes," Draco replied. It had not ever occurred to him how useful having two wands would be. He would have to file that one away for later.

"Charlie, frisk them anyway," the tall red-head that Draco couldn't remember replied. He was a Weasley. In fact, all three red-heads were, Draco was sure of it. He just could never keep their names straight. Not that he had tried particularly hard in the past, given what he thought of them. The muscled red-head walked over and patted Draco down. Old instincts almost made Draco kick at him, but he knew it wasn't what needed to be done in the situation. Charlie did the same for Astoria, though Draco noted that it was with a somewhat kinder and gentler hand than had been used for him.

"They're clean," Charlie said. "Except the pouch that Malfoy has."

"I'm sure there's nothing nefarious inside it now is there?" Granger asked, sounding incredibly like McGonagall had done all those years ago. Draco found it annoying, but not as annoying as he once had. He remembered the rage he had felt before.

"Nothing nefarious, no," Draco replied. "So, what are you going to do with us?"

"We aren't going to hurt you," the taller red-head said.

"Just a little bit, Bill?" the female redhead, Ginny Draco thought it was, said jokingly. She was the youngest of the Weasley family, Draco knew. He wasn't sure how many kids there were, but she had been the only girl.

"I'm afraid not," Bill replied.

"How did you survive?" Astoria asked. She and Draco still had their hands upraised.

"In due course," Granger said. "You can lower your hands. We heard you mention Dumbledore. You saw his portrait then?"

"Not all that long ago," Astoria responded. "He sent us here to look for some information in a few books. The Black family library is said to be very extensive."

"And dark," Granger agreed. "I should know, I've about read them all."

"_You_?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Yes, me," Granger replied, an annoyed look flashing on her face. "If we wish to fight the Dark Arts, we must know what they are. It sickens me to read some of the things in those books, but I do it nonetheless. I would never practice such things."

"Can we at least come out of the hallway?" Draco asked after a pause.

"Yes," Granger said reluctantly. "But be warned. We have guests. And if you could try and not be overly loud, that'd be great. The kids are in bed."

"If you wake them up, you'll have me to deal with," Fleur warned, though Draco thought he sensed some humour in her tone. He silently wondered just how many kids there were and who they belonged to. Fleur had to be one of the parents at least.

"Some of our guests are Muggles," the Lovegood girl said suddenly. Draco had almost forgotten that she was still there.

"Muggles?" Astoria asked, an eyebrow raised.

"We saved their son from Greyback last night," Charlie explained.

"That was you?" Draco asked, somewhat impressed.

"Yes it was," Charlie said. "Matt was scratched, so we're going to keep him under observation. Even Muggles can be werewolves, or at least have the traits."

"Muggles and children?" Draco asked, almost daring to smile. "Quite the operation you have here. Anything else we should know?"

"When we got to Greyback, we found Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell," Granger said. Draco's eyes widened. "I see you recognise the names. Angelina was bitten by Greyback. Ginny closed her wound, but she hasn't woken up yet. She will, unfortunately, be a werewolf until a cure is found."

Draco and Astoria were lead to the sitting room where only two other people sat. Draco recognised them from the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They were not happy to see him, judging by the looks on their faces. Draco thought that revulsion was closest to what the looks were. When reassured that he and Astoria were not armed at all, they seemed to be calmer, though still wary.

"Wendy and Robert are upstairs," Granger explained. "They're the Muggle family. They had a long night last night, and they've been quite overwhelmed by everything."

"You actually told them?" Draco asked. He wasn't entirely shocked, but it did surprise him slightly because he was not used to Muggles knowing about anything from the magical world.

"We thought it best," Bill said. "Their son was almost killed, after all. It isn't like the Statute of Secrecy matters much anymore."

"Why are you here?" Granger asked bluntly as Draco sat next to Astoria on one of the many couches. He wondered if they were always there, or if someone had conjured or transfigured them. He did see a few things that he thought were Muggle around the room, which didn't surprise him. Granger was Muggleborn and the Weasleys were known supporters of Muggles. "You spoke with Dumbledore's portrait. Why?"

"We do owe you an explanation," Astoria said before Draco could speak. He thought it was probably for the best. He didn't have the best track-record with talking to Granger. He couldn't really be sure that he wouldn't revert back to the way he was at school. "I'll keep it short. We don't approve of the Ministry or of the Dark Lord anymore."

"And yet you call him the Dark Lord," Ginny pointed out.

"Wouldn't you if you had to do everything he wants?" Draco almost snapped. "It's either follow him or die these days, and most people would rather live under his rule."

"Exactly," Astoria said, patting Draco's hand. He knew what it was. It was almost as if she was shouting at him to tone it down. "Anyway, back in September we tried to get to Hogwarts, but we were stopped by the Centaurs. They told us the time wasn't right, gave us a prophecy and a gift and we left."

"A prophecy?" Lovegood piped up.

"Forgive us," Astoria said, "if we're not entirely ready to trust you with the full thing."

"It's enough to know there was one," Bill said before anyone else could speak. Draco could see that he was probably the most level-headed of all of them there.

"Anyway, we decided to go back there today," Astoria continued. "It was Greyback's story that made us go there. He has no idea who it was who attacked him, or who he attacked, so don't worry. You haven't been discovered."

Astoria told the rest of the tale, including mostly everything that happened. When she was finished, the others all looked thoughtful.

"Could be lying," Charlie said to the others in the room.

"I heard them mention the portrait from my room," Granger pointed out. "He had no reason to mention it then."

"A portrait Dumbledore is more easily fooled than the real one," Charlie responded. He turned to Draco. "You said you went there to talk to him about the gift that the Centaurs gave you. It might help us if we knew what it was."

"They gave us a stone," Draco said. He had been thinking while Astoria spoke, and he came to a conclusion. Back when he was a Hogwarts student, he would have hated every person in the room with them, except for maybe Fleur. The conclusion that he drew from that is that maybe they're the right people to trust given the situation that he and Astoria found themselves in. While it was proving difficult to force himself to treat them better, he was sure that he could do it in time. "We figured it was important, but we couldn't work out what it was."

"May we see it?" Lovegood asked. Draco hesitated.

"Dumbledore told us what it is," he said slowly. "I'll show you, but I'm going to have to ask that you not take it from me."

He and Astoria had never lost a loved one. Every single person in this room had. That much would be obvious to anyone with half a brain. Draco was no fool. He knew what the Resurrection Stone could do to people. He remembered well "The Tale of the Three Brothers".

"Fine," Granger said. Draco reached into the pouch and pulled it out. He stood up, walked over to where Granger sat, reached out his hand and showed her the Resurrection Stone. Immediately, he saw her recognise it. He pulled it away just as she tried to grab it out of his hand. He didn't blame her for wanting it.

"Hermione?" Charlie asked, as Granger looked at Draco, shocked. "What was it?"

"It's the Resurrection Stone," Granger replied. "The Centaurs gave Draco Malfoy the Resurrection Stone. How did they even have it?"

"Dumbledore told us he had it at one point," Astoria said.

"He wouldn't have given them the Stone," Granger said. "Someone else must have had it. I don't –"

Draco had hated it when he saw this look on Granger's face at Hogwarts. Like she'd solved a problem. Then, her face immediately fell.

"Of course," she said. "_I open at the close_."

"What?" Draco said derisively, mostly on reflex.

"Dumbledore left Harry the very first Golden Snitch that Harry ever caught in Quidditch in his will," Granger said. Draco felt that she wasn't really responding to him. "Harry worked out after some time that the flesh memory was not of his hand, but of his mouth. When he touched it to his mouth, there were some words on the Snitch. _I open at the close_. We never worked out what it was, but now I think I know. The Resurrection Stone would have fit into the Snitch, so Dumbledore left it for Harry that way, knowing that no one else would be able to open it. He must have charmed it to be fully activated only when something specific happened or was said. I think Harry activated it when he went to the Forbidden Forest to die. Knowing Harry, he used it. I imagine he saw his parents, Sirius and maybe Remus. He wouldn't keep it though. He probably thought that it would be safe on the ground in the Forest. Barely anyone goes in there anyway. Clearly, the Centaurs found it and held on to it until they gave it to you."

"That all … makes sense," Draco said, impressed. He had known what a know-it-all Granger was, but he didn't realise she was this good. He assumed that most of it was just for show.

"It didn't work for either of us," Astoria put in. "We probably tried everything when we were trying to work it out, and turning it in our hands had to be one of the ones we tried most often. Dumbledore told us that it didn't work because we haven't lost anyone before."

"And we all have," Granger said, with some realisation, looking at Draco with something akin to admiration. "You knew that, so you made sure we didn't take it."

Draco didn't say anything. A few snide remarks entered his mind, but he didn't voice them, which took a great deal of effort on his part. He wasn't sure he trusted his face though, so he tried to make it more even. There was silence for about a minute.

"I trust them," Lovegood said suddenly.

"How can you be so sure?" Ginny asked. "This is Draco Malfoy."

"The Centaurs," Lovegood said simply. "They may not interfere with our lives much, but they are not evil creatures. If they trust them, perhaps we should as well."

Before anyone else could speak, there was a sudden cry of pain from somewhere upstairs. Draco couldn't help but cringe at the sound. He had heard worse though. He had felt worse too, most likely. Ginny swore and got to her feet.

"Katie, Alicia, come with me," she said quickly. "She'll want to see you. Charlie and Hermione, you might be needed."

The group left the sitting room and rushed upstairs as the cries of pain got louder, leaving Draco and Astoria with Lovegood, Bill and Fleur. Astoria turned to Lovegood.

"Thank you, Luna," she said with a smile. _Luna Lovegood!_ Draco thought to himself. _We used to call her Loony._ "It means a lot to us that you trust us."

"If you're actually fighting against the Ministry, just what are you doing?" Bill asked.

"There hasn't been much that we can do, really," Astoria responded. "I've gotten a job there as a member of the Invisibility Task Force."

"They still have that?" Bill asked, surprised. "I would have thought by now they would have just come out into the open to the Muggle population. We'd have heard of it though. Why haven't they done anything else?"

"I asked Father that," Draco said. Perhaps it was something to do with having less people around, or maybe it was just not being around Granger, but he felt more comfortable. "He says that the Dark Lord wants to ensure his power of Magical Britain first. I think most of the Dark Lord's followers are as shocked as you are that he hasn't done much else."

"Is your father –" Bill began, but Draco cut him off.

"Yes, he's still a supporter of the Dark Lord," Draco said. "But I assure you that we aren't."

There was a loud cry from upstairs, different from the first.

"I think Louis is awake," Bill told Fleur with a grin.

"Could I see him?" Astoria asked suddenly. Fleur looked at her for just a moment before nodding. The two women went off.

"How many kids are there here?" Draco asked.

"Fleur and I have two," Bill said. Draco wondered whether he felt the same way as Luna. "Louis is nearly four months old. Victoire is two and half years old." Bill seemed to look at Draco, as if to challenge him. While not the names that he would have chosen for his own children, Draco did not see an issue. He did notice the importance of the name Victoire.

"Only the two?" Draco asked. Bill nodded.

"Apart from Matt, but he's hardly a resident here," Bill said. "Just the two for now."

"Speaking of residents at this place," Draco said motioning to Number Twelve, "why is it that you're hiding out here of all places? And how come we didn't see it the first time?"

"Well, not that you would know this, but Harry owned this place," Bill explained. Draco was not entirely shocked. Sirius Black had been the last owner of the house, he knew. He also knew that he would likely leave it all to Potter. "Harry left everything to the Weasley family. More specifically, he left it to Mum and Dad. Since they died, I'm the oldest, so it all now belongs to me."

"Odd," Draco murmured. All eyes moved to him, as if awaiting some snide remark. "Even though I expected to be the owner by blood, this doesn't bother me in the slightest. Perhaps it's because Astoria and I already have a home. So, why couldn't we see it the first time?"

"Two Fidelius charms," Bill replied with a smile. He seemed proud. Draco found that he was impressed once again. "One inside the other. I could have gotten rid of the first one, but it would have taken longer than it took me to make the second. Plus, this way it's much safer. Few people know the original address, and even fewer the new one. It's virtually impregnable here."

"Yes, we feel very safe," Fleur said from the stairs. She was carrying a small child with red hair. Astoria was with her, and she looked as though she was lost in the child.

"Draco, he's gorgeous," she said with a smile. Draco was sure she was right, but he felt odd around babies. He had never had anyone in his life who had a baby, so the idea was foreign to him. He just nodded and smiled at his wife obligingly. He knew that one day he would have a child of his own, and that frightened him.

"What do you think?" Fleur asked her husband.

"I think he's sincere," Bill replied. "I think we might be able to trust him. Plus, it would be good to have someone with an in at the Ministry so we can know what's really going on. The _Prophet _only says so much."

"I heard noises," a voice said from the stairs. Draco turned to look. It had to be the Muggle boy that Greyback had attempted to attack. Other than the executions, Draco realised that this was his first true interaction with any Muggle. He remembered the stories that his mother and father had told him as a young boy about Muggles. He remembered being told stories about Muggle boys killing magical boys just because they wanted the magic. They were greedy, murderous and, above all, emotionless.

It was funny, Draco mused to himself as he watched Lovegood go to the boy and ask to see his arm, that all of those things that Father had taught him about Muggles were actually what he, himself, was. Draco, for the first time in his life, found himself noticing that his father might not be a good person. Even over the last few months, Draco had come to think of his father as something of a result of his circumstances, but it was as if the blinders were taken off for the very first time, and Draco was seeing clearly.

"Well, the cut seems to have healed well enough," Lovegood said with a smile. "Does it still hurt?"

"A bit," the boy said, looking at Draco and Astoria. "Who are you?"

"This is Draco and Astoria," Fleur said. "They're … friends of ours."

"Oh, okay," the boy said. Draco could tell that he was uncomfortable, both in the house and around all these new people. He looked at Draco. "Do you have magic too?"

"Yes, I do," Draco replied. He didn't know what else to say. A part of him waited for the evil look. The murderous look.

"Cool!" the boy said happily. All of a sudden, it was like he was a different kid. "Can you show me some? They all showed me some during the day, and I really liked it."

"We can't at the moment," Astoria cut in. "We don't have our wands."

"Oh," Matt looked downcast. "That's okay. It's still cool that you can do that stuff."

Matt was nothing like what Draco had been taught about Muggles at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. A little voice in Draco's head that sounded eerily like his father said that he was just an exceptional case. But Draco couldn't help but think that this boy might actually be in the majority.

"I think you might want to go back to bed," Luna suggested.

"I'm not tired," Matt said stubbornly.

"It's very late," Luna told him. "If you go back to bed, we'll show you more magic in the morning."

"Okay, fine," Matt said, defeated. Draco remembered an argument like this he had with his parents when he was about that age. That argument had been much longer, not to mention louder.

"I'll go and see Ginny and maybe I'll have something to help you sleep easier," Luna said. "But when I come into your room, you have to be in bed, okay?"

Matt walked upstairs, with Luna following him.

"She's very good at that," Astoria commented. Bill and Fleur laughed.

"We think it's natural for her," Fleur told her. "She has always been good with Victoire and Louis. It's not surprising she's good with Matt as well. We think it's because she has retained some of her inner-child through everything."

"Either way, she's amazing," Bill said. "Everyone here is. Ginny's a self-trained healer, so she can help with any health issues the kids have. Luna is just great with them. Hermione will be able to teach them when they get older. Charlie treats them like the greatest things on Earth. I even think he might like them more than he likes dragons."

There was silence for a moment, before Draco finally realised there was a question that hadn't been answered.

"You're all listed as dead," he said. "How did you manage to survive?"

Bill and Fleur told Draco about what had happened when the Dark Lord set the Hall on fire. Draco and his family had not been in the Hall at the time, so he had never heard a first-hand account. The only person living who knew even a little bit was supposedly the Dark Lord, who only spoke about it vaguely. What Draco had heard most about was the return to the Hall, when people found the bones of those who had been inside. Somehow the bones weren't burned away, even by fiendfyre. Draco had not been there for that, either. He was grateful for that. Even if had had not liked everyone in the Great Hall, he had no wish to see their bones, knowing full well what it meant.

"We don't like talking about it," Bill said when he finished his explanation. "Had you asked Charlie, he might not have told you anything at all. I don't think he ever forgave himself for not saving more people."

"It was not his duty to," Fleur said quietly. Bill nodded.

"I agree, but Charlie doesn't," Bill told her, before looking at Draco and Astoria seriously. "You two are doing the right thing. You need to know that. But you cannot truly understand what it is you're fighting for. Not the way we do."

"And what exactly are you fighting for?" Draco asked. He wondered if he sounded like he was sneering. He didn't mean to be, but it seemed as though Bill took it that way. He looked offended.

"We're fighting for the people we've loved and lost," Bill said. "Like Hermione inferred earlier, it was probably for the best that you didn't give one of us the Resurrection Stone. The temptation for every one of us is there. Not to see them again. That's not what we want. We want to know that they support us. That they love us. We have accepted that they are all dead, you see, but there is something there. Perhaps it's just unanswered questions. Perhaps it's unsaid feelings. But if any one of us used the Resurrection Stone, we would never stop. The temptation would be too great. You can't understand that. I hope you never have to understand it."

Draco thought for a minute. He wondered what would make him feel like that. Astoria, as a certainty. His parents? He didn't know. He couldn't fathom how it would feel to be in their position.

"We could have fled," Fleur said suddenly. Draco looked up. "My parents offered us a spot in their home. We could have lived fairly safely. We agreed that it wasn't what we wanted. What was it that Hermione said that day?"

"I believe she said, 'I won't leave Britain until I see that bastard's rotting corpse at my feet and those that follow him locked away or dead.' Just a bit extreme," Bill replied with a smile. "I think the sentiment stands. Not that we've been able to do all that much, mind you."

"We're willing to work with you," Astoria said, taking Draco's hand. "We had no idea how we were going to do this on our own. It seems we might not be on our own any more."

"If helping you means that You-Know-Who gets taken down, I think we can find a way to work together," Bill said seriously. "Unfortunately, I think some of us might have some trouble trusting you. Luna, Fleur and I trust you, which will help. You have to understand, Draco, you did a lot to Hermione throughout your years at Hogwarts. She isn't inclined to –" Bill was about to finish, but there was a yell from upstairs.

"Ginny!" Luna yelled frantically. "Ginny, get in here now! We need you!"

Bill stood up from the couch abruptly.

"Come with me," he said to Draco and Astoria. He ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. Draco wasn't in as much as a hurry, but found himself going quicker than he would normally have done. He saw Bill enter a room and he followed after. Astoria was with him, and Fleur was behind them with baby Louis.

The room was small, much like a guest room would be normally. Draco knew that it would be one of many rooms within the house, as the Black family was known for being lavish with that sort of thing. Even if they didn't need them, they would have a lot of rooms. When he entered he saw Ginny and Granger hovering over a bed. The Muggle boy, Matt, was convulsing on the bed. Every so often a coloured spark or jet would come from his body, illuminating the room.

"Fleur, you need to keep Louis out of here," Ginny said. Fleur nodded and left the room. Draco rushed to the bedside and roughly turned Granger around so she was facing him. Her face went from worry to anger in less than a second.

"You need to give me my wand," Draco said quickly.

"How do I know you won't kill us all?" Granger asked. If the circumstances had been different, Draco felt sure that he would have argued with her. He turned to Ginny just as a purple spark came from Matt's mouth.

"You have no idea what this is, I assume?" he said. Ginny looked at him and shook her head. He turned back to Granger. "I do. Give me my wand, or the kid's going to die. That isn't a threat, it is a fact."

Granger looked reluctant.

"Hermione, just give him his wand," Ginny said. "We're all here. We can fight back if he's stupid enough to do anything."

Granger reached into her pocket and pulled out Draco's wand. Immediately he pushed her and Ginny out of the way and put his wand to Matt's chest, pushing hard into the skin so that he could be sure that contact could be maintained. He closed his eyes and focused, placing his free hand softly on the boy's shoulder. He spoke under his breath, reciting incantations as he went. Slowly, Matt's convulsions stopped. Draco opened his eyes and saw that the boy was still. He put an ear to Matt's chest and listened. He heard the heartbeat and sighed.

"What the hell was that?" Ginny asked. Draco was unsure whether she was referring to Matt or to him.

"Someone needs to keep watching him," Draco said, feeling the boy's face. "This probably won't happen again, but it well could. I used a spell that my father taught me when I married Astoria. It's specifically to settle magic back down. It's not a spell that's well known, but he felt that I might need it when I have a kid of my own. If this happened, I would need to know it."

"What was it?" Ginny asked. "I've never read about this before."

"Sometimes, very rarely, children around this age will develop an issue," Draco began to explain. "Their magic has built up too far and has not been let out in any way before. It mostly happens in late bloomers. Most kids start accidental magic at seven years old. Some start earlier, some later. The ones that start too late have this happen. Their magic was restricted so much that it built up and has to be released in some way, so this happened. My spell basically halts this outburst, allowing the child's magic to progress as normal. If I hadn't done anything, he would have died, I assure you. I thought you said this kid is a Muggle."

"He is," Granger insisted. "His parents insisted they had never seen anything like magic before, and Bill even did a spell to test him just after we got him back here. No magic at all."

"This doesn't happen to Muggle kids," Draco persisted.

"Here," Bill said, pointing his wand at Matt, who was asleep. He did a wordless spell and a strangely green light floated into the air and formed a 'W'. "That doesn't make any sense. Earlier it was a red 'M'. Everyone saw it."

"Your spell is faulty then," Draco said simply. Bill shook his head.

"I've done it on everyone," he replied. "I even did it to random people in the street. It's non-invasive, so no one feels a thing. It has never once been wrong."

"You don't just gain magic," Granger said. "No matter what anyone thinks, Muggles don't steal magic. You're born with it or without it. Matt was a Muggle this morning, and now he's a wizard. Something is going on here."

"Could it be the sleeping potion I gave him?" Luna asked. Ginny shook her head.

"All potions can work on Muggles just fine," she explained. "I doubt a sleeping potion gave him magical abilities."

"It may have caused the fit though," Draco cut in. "Often when a child who is a late bloomer has one of these fits, it is a direct result of something involving magic. A potion could do just that."

"That may be true, but it doesn't explain how he's suddenly a wizard," Granger pointed out, annoyance lacing her tone. Draco could tell that she still didn't trust him.

"Does it really matter how?" Astoria asked. It seemed that most people in the room had forgotten that she was there. "He's a wizard now. That's what matters, really."

"If there's something out there making Muggles into witches and wizards, I think we ought to know more about it," Bill said. "Then again, this might be a unique case."

Draco found that he agreed with Bill. It was probably just a unique case. There was a chance, however, that there was something else going on.

"Either way," Draco said suddenly, "you are going to have to protect him closely. If he's now a wizard, he may well have been immediately put on the list to go to Hogwarts. That's how the Dark Lord finds a lot of Muggleborns. The list still works and is updated automatically. When a letter is due to be sent to the child, that gives the Ministry an address to find them. His whole family could be executed if you aren't safe."

Draco was shocked to discover just how much he cared. Not only for Matt, but for everyone else in Number Twelve. He and Astoria had decided to fight against the regime of the Dark Lord, but Draco had thought it would be just that. It was only now occurring to him what fighting the Dark Lord meant. They weren't just fighting the Dark Lord. They were fighting to save so many other people. Something inside Draco swelled up. It was something he had never felt before. He had felt something akin to it once, but something was different this time. He felt as though everything he was doing was for a purpose. He actually felt proud of himself.


	9. The Wedding of Zacharias Smith

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 9**_

_**The Wedding of Zacharias Smith**_

"_That is how heavy a secret can become. It can make blood flow easier than ink."_  
- Patrick Rothfuss ("The Wise Man's Fear")

_**Justin Finch-Fletchley**_

_**19**__**th**__** November, 2003**_

"I'll just stay here with you," Zach said, clearly panicking. He had snuck away from his home while he was preparing for his wedding day. When he and Justin had met the night before, Justin had done all he could to make Zach feel better, but it had been too easy for Zach to get cold feet, especially when marrying someone that he had no desire to. "You offered before. We'll be safe and we can just stay here forever."

"I thought you didn't want to run anymore," Justin pointed out. Zach looked hurt, and Justin felt a bit bad. "I'm sorry, but that's what you've said to me every other time."

"I know," Justin said, resigned. "I just … I don't hate her. I just don't want to spend my life with her."

"And she doesn't want to spend hers with you," Justin replied. Zach had told him all about their few meetings, and Pansy had made her position quite clear. In fact, she had even told Zach that she would try to make it work with him. Of course, Justin knew the truth of the situation. He had not spoken to Daphne since she left his house, but he had no reason to believe that Pansy and Blaise had stopped fooling around. As much as he hated keeping anything from Zach, he felt that it was important in this case. "She is being rather reasonable given the circumstances."

"That's not the point," Zach replied. "I know she's being reasonable, but it doesn't help the problem I have."

"I've thought of that," Justin said, giving Zach a cauldron that he had charmed so that it wouldn't spill the light blue liquid contained within it. "I was going to give this to you last night, but I knew you would be back today."

"What is it?" Zach asked, examining the liquid. "I was never good at Potions."

"Think of it as the thing that will eliminate your main problem," Justin replied. Zach's eyes widened. "Have some of this tonight, and you'll be able to actually consummate the marriage, I assure you of that."

"It won't make me like it," Zach said, though he did look grateful.

"No, that's true," Justin said with a smile. "You don't have to like it, you just have to do it. You'll work through it. If you can defy the Ministry as you have all these years, surely you can bring yourself to do this. Think of it as saving your life."

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Zach said sincerely. Justin shrugged.

"Probably do just as well," he replied. "You are so much better than you think. Before you disagree with me, I think you might want to go. You've already been gone for twenty minutes. Much longer and they'll think you've done a runner."

"I never said I would go through with it," Zach said suddenly. Justin smiled at him.

"You will," he said. Justin kissed Zach for a few seconds. "Go on then. Like I said last night, leave it a week, then come and see me. What's in the cauldron will last you at least until then."

"The wedding's in exactly …" Zach checked his watch, "four hours and twenty-two minutes. If I don't show up after that, assume I had the guts to get married." He left it at that and left the house. Justin knew that he wouldn't see Zach again for at least a week. A part of him was extremely saddened, while there was also a part that was actually pleased.

He decided to make something for lunch, but he soon realised that he didn't have anything to make it with. He had not gone shopping for over a week, and he knew that he was due to do so. He left his house and walked to the nearby grocery shop and started shopping. He tried to keep the items to a minimum, mainly because he didn't want to have to carry everything home. He would have been content to use magic except that it was not a smart idea to do so in broad daylight with so many Muggles around.

He was looking at some meat when he felt something brush his back. Alarmed, he turned around but saw nothing. He found himself assuming that it was nothing. Not long afterwards, he was looking at some fruit and wondering whether it would be worth buying some at the time, and he felt a definite shove on his shoulder, causing him to take a few steps forward. He looked around and, upon seeing no one, he grabbed his wand. He pointed it in the direction that he had thought the thing had been moving and silently used the summoning charm, focusing on the idea of an invisibility cloak. When no one was revealed, he put away his wand and took the groceries to the counter. He found that he was extremely concerned.

As he made his way back home with three bags, he found himself looking around. If anyone had seen him at that time, there was no doubt in his mind that they would think he was extremely paranoid. Justin didn't think anything of it at the time, as he was concerned about what it meant to witness that. He was certain that magic was involved, and given the state of things he could only assume that the magic was meant to be hostile.

He cursed himself for even revealing his wand. For all he knew, the people there were simply scouting the area, looking for people in hiding. They may not have even been looking specifically for him, but now he was worried that he had led them right to him with his stupidity. For all he knew, he would be sentenced to death just for having a wand in his hand.

He was pleased to finally reach his home and moved to open the lock when he heard a rustle behind him. One of the bushes near his mail box had been touched by something. Justin turned around and saw nothing.

"If you're here to kill me, you may as well get it over with," he said, his voice wavering. He looked to the bushes in his front garden, as if waiting for the assailant to jump out and fire off the Killing Curse. There was no response. "I know you're there. Just get it over with."

"Do you support the Ministry?" a female voice asked from the bushes finally. Justin jumped slightly at the first sound, as he had been expecting that if he had heard anything, it would have been the worst possible words. When he registered what had been said, he thought for a moment. It was a tough question to answer. He decided that the Ministry would kill him either way, so he may as well tell the truth.

"No," he said loud enough for the woman to hear. There was silence for a few moments before he heard a whisper in his ear.

"Neither do I," a different voice told him. He jumped at how close she had gotten. After getting past the shock, he thought he recognised the voice. "Don't say anything else. Just go inside. I'll follow you, and then I'll reveal myself. Just not right now."

Justin opened the door and walked in, leaving the door open for the woman to come in. He sat his groceries on a nearby armchair as the door closed by itself. Justin watched as the woman came into his view. He knew who it was immediately, and quickly hugged her.

Susan Bones had attended Hogwarts in Hufflepuff House with Justin for the six years he had spent at the school. She was slightly taller than she had been when Justin had last seen her in 1997 and her red hair was cut short. It was clearly her, however. She and Justin had been good friends for six years, and she wasn't something that he found easy to forget.

"Susan, what are you doing here?" Justin asked her, looking at her as if she didn't truly exist.

"It's a bit of a long story," Susan said with a smile. "Oh, it's so good to see you alive. Sorry I asked that question. I knew you wouldn't be, being Muggle-born and all. I can never be too careful."

"I know. I heard that you were caught," Justin said. Susan raised her eyebrows. "How did you get away?"

"Another long story, I'm afraid," she said, laughing. Justin smiled.

"I've got time," he replied before picking up his shopping. "Well, I will have when I get these away."

It didn't take him all that long, as he didn't keep things overly organised and just threw them in wherever he would remember them. After that, he sat back down with Susan. When she asked what he'd like to know first, he suggested that she start from the beginning.

"Well, after Sixth Year, I was pretty aware of what was going on," Susan said seriously. "Since Aunt Amelia died and I didn't have anywhere to live, so Hannah and her Dad offered to let me stay with them. Even though Hannah wasn't at Hogwarts, we stayed in touch. I decided that it was for the best. When I heard that Snape was going to be Headmaster and that Muggle-borns wouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts, I decided that it was best that I not go. Hannah and her Dad thought she should go, since she's a Half-Blood, but they let me decide for myself. I would have stayed with Hannah, but I couldn't. I knew Snape had killed Dumbledore, and that made him a Death Eater, so I couldn't go back. It was never explicitly said that I had to, but I left their home when Hannah went with her father to catch the Hogwarts Express. I knew some people around who would have me, and my not being at Hogwarts would make Hannah's family a target, so I left.

"I went from place to place over the year, mostly only staying not more than a month or so. Aunt Amelia had Muggle friends, so I sometimes stayed with them, when they were kind enough to allow me to. Because I was in hiding, I missed the Battle of Hogwarts."

"I wasn't there either," Justin told her. He had seen the unhappy look on Susan's face, and recognised that she was feeling guilty so he hoped to make her feel better. Susan smiled.

"Just as well it seems," she said, completely understating things. "Anyway, after the Battle I thought I needed to do more, so I sought out others. The first place I checked was Hogwarts."

"Why would you check there?" Justin asked, confused.

"Fugitives need to hide in the most unlikely places to be found," Susan explained. "I thought that some people might have taken refuge there because the Death Eaters would hardly think to look there after they went back the next day to check. Luckily, I recognised the new wards around the school before I got in. I found a weak spot and entered that way. I guess it worked since no one showed up. I spent two days searching the school for anyone, and I didn't find a single person, until I searched the Divination tower. Trelawney had locked herself in her office.

"It took some convincing, but I got her to come out and talk to me. She was with a House Elf. Winky her name was. That was apparently how Trelawney kept getting food. Winky told me, after some prompting from Trelawney, that she had done some unlawful things in the past, so stealing food was nothing to her. Trelawney and Winky were hiding away comfortably, but they both refused to help me."

"I could have told you Trelawney would," Justin said. Susan shook her head.

"It wasn't because she was scared," Susan said evenly, "though I understand why you would think so. She said that she couldn't do it because she was too entrenched in Voldemort's history to actively rebel against him. I asked her what that meant, and she said she couldn't tell me. She did tell me that, if she did anything against him, things could go terribly wrong."

_Sounds like she was just making things up_, Justin thought to himself. He knew better than to vocalise such thoughts.

"I did ask Winky if there was anyone else in the school, and she told me that there wasn't," Susan continued. "Since a House Elf bound to Hogwarts knows these things, and I had no reason to distrust her, I decided to just leave them be.

"After that it took a while to find anyone else. A few months later, I found Augusta Longbottom." To Justin's confused look, Susan said, "Neville Longbottom's grandmother. I actually ran into her by accident. I was sneaking around in Hogsmeade when I found her doing the same. She took me back to the house she was using as her hiding place. It was just the Longbottom home with a Fidelius charm, but it was enough. She told me that she was working with Xenophilius Lovegood, the editor of that _Quibbler_ magazine, remember?"

"The one that everyone thought was bonkers?" Justin asked. Susan nodded.

"That's the one," she replied. "Apparently he escaped the Death Eaters the day after the Battle and was forming a resistance. He had been spurred by the death of Luna, his daughter. Augusta had felt the same way about Neville. I think that's why she joined Xeno. I met with Xeno a few times while I was staying with Augusta. I know what people used to say about him, but he was a changed man. In some ways, he reminded me of Dumbledore. He started to organise attacks, just like the Death Eaters had done before they took the Ministry. That was how I was caught.

"I went with Xeno, Augusta and a few others to the home of known Death Eater, Tarquin Yaxley," Susan said, her face now more serious. "We knew that he was high up in the Death Eater ranks, so we hoped to take him out, or at least take him prisoner. Unfortunately, when we got to his home, it turns out that we had coordinated the attack poorly as he had many visitors over for his wife's birthday. I was just a bit too slow to activate the Portkey, and I was lucky they only stunned me."

"That explains a lot," Justin said. "I know that Lovegood was executed a few years ago. I seem to remember the Longbottom name mentioned at some point there as well."

"Yes, I'd heard about that myself," Susan said gravely. "They were good people. They didn't deserve to die the way they did.

"Anyway, I was due to be executed, but the Death Eaters had neglected to remember to check my pockets," Susan continued. "I was able to, just before Macnair was due to kill me, activate my Portkey and get away. I decided that I had to go back to Augusta's home, but when I got there she was nowhere to be found. I checked everywhere, and there was no trace that she had even returned to the house. I knew she hadn't been killed, so I stayed there. She never did come back again. When I heard that she had died, I simply took up full residence at her home. Other than myself, Xeno and a few members of the resistance had known where the house was, and were essentially Secret Keepers. When I heard about Xeno, I was worried that the Death Eaters would show up, but they never did. I've been there ever since."

"Alone?" Justin asked, his gaze softening. Susan shook her head.

"The Longbottom family had a House Elf," she explained. "Polgara. Odd name for an Elf, but she was good. She was old too. She stayed with me until a few months ago, when she died. Old age. At least that was possible somewhere."

"I'm sorry," Justin replied, not really knowing what else could be said.

"I was actually fairly lucky," Susan said, more cheerfully. "Neville had been a keen Herbology student. Since he did so well in that class, Augusta let him use the greenhouse. Neville had been growing everything in there. Since I am an alright gardener myself, I was able to continue that. I only had to get a few things every so often from a Muggle store, which was difficult enough I admit. I've managed so far though, even without Pol."

"So what brings you here of all places?" Justin asked after a moment's silence. "I mean, it doesn't seem like much of a coincidence."

"It isn't, actually," Susan said. "Truth be told, I didn't really expect to come here. I didn't even know you were still alive."

"Actually," Justin said, thinking of something suddenly. "How did you know that I live here?" Susan laved a throaty laugh.

"I know how a Muggle telephone book works, Jus," she said, teasingly. "In fact, I do believe you were the one who taught me."

"Yeah, but I mean, there's wards on the house," he said. "You shouldn't have known I was here."

"The wards work, don't worry," Susan said. "I didn't think you would be capable of a ward like that, if I'm being honest. I came here a few days ago, expecting to find you alive and well. What I saw … well, you weren't either."

"Wait, you saw me dead?" he asked, suddenly feeling guilty. "I thought it didn't work that way."

"It shows the opposite of what we expect to see," Susan said kindly. "If the Death Eaters showed up looking to find a hidden wizard, they would see something else. Likely a young Muggle family. Or perhaps an elderly couple. I was looking for you specifically because I knew you were alive. As a result, I saw you dead. I didn't know that you weren't, though."

"I'm so sorry," Justin said, feeling incredibly guilty. He thought about what he would feel if he found Susan dead in her home, and he knew how she would have felt.

"I kind of just fled when I saw it," Susan admitted. "When I did some thinking, though, I realised what it must have been. If you were dead, it was the Death Eaters, and yet the Dark Mark was nowhere to be found. I worked out that it was a ward. That's why I'm here."

"Wait," Justin said suddenly. "But how did you know I was even alive?"

"That's an odd explanation," Susan said, holding up the folded Invisibility Cloak. "It starts with this."

"Well, it's an Invisibility Cloak, obviously," Justin said.

"It's not mine," Susan replied. "Well, maybe it is now. I don't know."

"If it isn't yours, how did you get it?" Justin asked. He thought of something suddenly. "Did Augusta have one in the house?"

"No, she doesn't," Susan replied. "There are many magical items in that house, though no Invisibility Cloak, I'm afraid. A bit over a week ago, I was just going for a walk to the grocery store, when I found a parcel sitting on the ground just inside the gate. There was a letter on the top, which had 'Susan Bones' written on it. I checked it for Dark Magic and when I learned that it was safe, I took it inside and opened it. When I found the Invisibility Cloak inside, I read the letter immediately. It might be better if you read it for yourself."

Susan handed over the letter to Justin who took it from her. It was obviously a wizard's letter as it felt much thicker than any Muggle envelope would. It was already open, a plain red seal broken. Justin took out the parchment inside and read the words that were written as if they had been crafted by a calligrapher.

_Susan,_

_I know that this will seem strange to you, though I cannot think of someone more in need of this than you right at this very minute. You are one of very few remaining descendants of the great Houses within the Magical community who remain opposed to Voldemort (the taboo does not cover the written word, for future knowledge). As such, I believe that you will be important in the fight of the years to come. A cloak such as this is better used for you, than myself. It has saved my life on countless occasions, but I find that I am able to hold my own against the forces that seek to kill people like us._

_I cannot, for the moment, reveal to you my identity. To do so would be detrimental in a lot of ways. I may not understand the Mystics of the world, nor do I find myself believing most of what they say, but they have all said one thing to me when I sought them out. They spoke of you, Susan. They said that our paths will not cross right away. We each have our own paths to take for the moment, so I leave this cloak in your hands for now, until such a time when our paths do cross again._

_I cannot do much for you, I'm afraid. I know you have been looking fruitlessly for others over the past years. I also know that you have lessened your search recently. I do not blame you for believing it to be a lost cause, and you should not blame yourself. I can only give you one name, in the hopes that you will see that not everything is lost. Justin Finch-Fletchley. He is alive, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that he will help with your fight. You will find him, just as you found Sybill, Augusta and Xenophilius._

_Do not lose this Invisibility Cloak, Susan. I can never be certain of anything, but I feel that if you lose the Cloak, more may be lost as a result. I am sure you agree with me when I say that we don't want that._

It was signed with an odd symbol that Justin didn't recognise. It was almost like an eye.

"Well, that explains how you know I'm alive," Justin said, handing the letter back to Susan. "Who would have given this to you? Not many people know I'm alive. No one that could have this."

"Who does know you're alive?" Susan asked. Justin then told her everything that was happening with Zach. He didn't mean to tell her everything, but once he got talking, his anxieties began to come out. He didn't mention Daphne, however. He did see her face fall slightly when he told her that he was gay. He had assumed that she knew, even though he never told her in school.

"Well, I doubt it was Zach," Susan agreed when Justin was finished. "As for the rest, I'm afraid I can't do too much else."

"I don't expect you to," Justin said with a small smile. "It's enough to know that you care."

"But Pansy Parkinson!" Susan suddenly said with a disgusted look. "Eurgh. If you knew even half of what I do about her, you would be less inclined to let Zach marry her."

"She's not that bad," Justin said. Susan looked at him seriously again.

"Trust me on this," she said, her tone somewhat menacing. "She is."

"Either way, it's her or someone Zach doesn't know," Justin said.

"I agree with you on that, at least," Susan said. "Pansy might be a horrible choice for a wife, but she's the only real choice available. When's the wedding again?"

"A few hours away still," Justin replied, looking at the clock. "I just wish I could be there for him."

"Do you know where it's at?" Susan asked.

"Yeah. Zach's house. His parents organized everything."

"Well, maybe you can be there for him," Susan said, thrusting the Invisibility Cloak at him. "You and I both know that Zach's family were never exactly safety-conscious, even when the Death Eaters were at large. Chances are, they're even less so now. You could get in there and watch the ceremony."

"Is that really wise?" Justin asked. "This is a pureblood wedding. If I'm caught, I'll be lynched. So will Zach, most likely."

"Do you know what the symbol at the end of the note was?" Susan asked. Justin was surprised at the abrupt change of conversation.

"No," he confessed. "It looked like an eye to me."

"In that case, just believe me when I say that you won't be caught," Susan replied, somewhat mysteriously. "Unless You-Know-Who himself is there, I doubt there will be anyone powerful enough to see through the Cloak. Plus, it hides you pretty well. You didn't see me at all, even though you knew I had to be there."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Justin asked.

"I am," Susan said, her tone one that Justin had heard many times before.

"Okay," Justin said finally. "I trust you."

"Good," Susan said brightly. "Just give it back to me when you're done. When are you going to leave?"

"I think I'll leave just a little bit before the wedding is meant to start," Justin replied. _If Zach can go through with being married, I can get through the wedding_, he thought to himself, more to convince himself that it was a good idea than anything else.

He and Susan talked for a little while longer, and Justin made them both lunch. He told her that she could visit at any time she wished. Susan had been very appreciative of that. She soon apparated away, and Justin was left to go to Zach's on his own. He knew how to apparate and, since he was legally dead in the magical world, his doing so couldn't be tracked. He had the Cloak on as he apparated to the Smith home.

The Smith's had lived in this home for years. Zach was never sure how long exactly. He didn't much care, Justin knew. It was a large house near Hogsmeade. Not in the town itself, but a few kilometres away. It was what would be considered a Muggle farm, if they had had any agriculture on it.

The house itself was of no interest to Justin as he made his way around to where he saw three very fancy pavilions set up. One was so big that Justin thought it almost rivalled the Great Hall at Hogwarts. There were two others, one for the bride and one for the groom. Justin could see into the largest pavilion. There were a lot of people waiting within, talking with each other. Justin recognised some of them, but in particular he noticed Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini and, much to his disgust, Draco Malfoy. Malfoy was standing with a woman with very dark brown hair who was shorter than he was, though he could not make much more out. He wondered for a moment who she was, but then he heard something from the pavilion nearest him.

"That's fine Dad," he heard Zach say from within. "I just need a few minutes alone. This is a big deal, right? I'll never be alone again and all that."

A moment later, Zach's father exited the pavilion. He looked in Justin's direction, and Justin froze. He hadn't seen anything, however, and turned to walk away. Justin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly entered where the older man had left.

"Just a few minutes Dad," Zach said, annoyed. He turned around and saw nothing.

"Zach, it's just me," Justin whispered. Zach looked startled. "Don't speak too loud. I don't want to show myself because anyone could walk in. Just know that I'm here for you, even if you can't see me. You can do it, I know you can. I love you."

"I love you too," Zach said quietly. Justin reached out an invisible hand and touched Zach's face.

"I have to go," he said as Zach lifted his hand to touch Justin's. "I'll be watching."

Twenty minutes later, Justin was watching the presiding wizard waved his wand over the heads of Zacharias Smith and Pansy Parkinson, creating a shower of stars on their hands. Pansy, Justin had to admit, did look beautiful. When the stars had fallen, Pansy and Justin kissed, just briefly. There was a brief exclamation of joy from the guests and then applause. Justin watched as Zach put his arm around Pansy's waist and walked her back down the aisle.

Justin watched Zach's face the whole way. He didn't think that anyone else could see what was in his face at that moment, and that was probably for the best. Justin walked away from the pavilion and apparated away. When he got back to his home, he took off the invisibility cloak and felt tears come to his eyes.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I want to thank all of you who have read this far for getting my story to 1,000 views! I am very happy to have reached this point, and it means a lot that so many people have even seen this story. As a celebration of this, I have posted on the Facebook page I admin two little tidbits of information about my story, as a little hint to the future. I will put those here as well:

Okay, so my first little bit of information is that someone else survived the Fiendfyre in the Great Hall. I will be dropping hints as to who survived and how they did it before I officially announce who it is.

My second bit of information is one that will take a bit of time to come true. Fawkes will play a role in the future, not dissimilar to the role he plays in the fanfiction "Harry Potter and the Veil of Mystery" by Semprini. I will be basically following the Phoenix lore that Semprini uses as to Fawkes within my story, though it will be different somewhat because Dumbledore is currently dead in mine.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter.

_**~Colin, The Master of Whisperers**_


	10. Interrogation

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Interrogation**_

"_The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."  
_- Edmund Burke [Not Verified]

_**Dennis Creevey**_

_**24**__**th**__** November, 2003**_

As Dennis had classes late on Monday's, he had decided to stay Sunday night at his parents' house. Partly this was because he was tired, but mostly he wanted to see Teddy off to school at least once.

Teddy was fitting into life with Dennis' parents now, and they had even managed to enrol him into a Muggle school so that he could get an education. Dennis had to forge some documents for them so that they could prove that they were, in fact, the legal caregivers of Teddy, but he had found that was quite easy. Teddy was happy with them, which Dennis was glad to see. His parents were definitely treating Teddy like their own child, Dennis was pleased to note. He was old enough that he wasn't jealous of the boy, and was coming to look at Teddy as his little brother.

It was nearly time for Teddy to go to school. Dennis had told him the night before that he would drive Teddy to school, and the boy had been ecstatic. Ever since Dennis left Teddy with his parents, the young boy had come to like Dennis. In fact, his parents had often remarked that Teddy would almost constantly ask to see him and was upset whenever he couldn't. Usually Simone would drop Teddy off, but she was sleeping in, and deservedly so in Dennis' opinion.

"You like school, huh?" Dennis asked Teddy, who was eating some colourful cereal. The boy smiled and nodded. Dennis' parents had decided that it would be best if they said that Teddy was their adopted child, so Dennis had told Teddy weeks ago that he could just use his normal hair colour and style without changing it. Teddy had been a bit put out, but after Dennis talked to him a bit more, the boy relented. His hair was a dark brown and was short, which was how it had been unless they knew that no one could see him.

"It's fun!" he said happily. "I've made some friends, and Mr Stevenson is really funny."

"That's great!" Dennis said, making himself some coffee. It was nice to see that kids could be excited about school. Dennis asked Teddy about what he had been learning, and Teddy told him in a surprising amount of detail. He was still only five years old, so what they were learning seemed easy to Dennis. He knew that it was probably hard for Teddy, though.

After breakfast, Dennis put Teddy into his car and drove to the school. He knew where it was, as it was the same school that he had attended when he was younger. He parked out the front of it and got Teddy out. Teddy hugged him straight away.

"Do you have to go back?" Teddy asked him. Dennis knelt down.

"I'm sorry, but I do," he said. "I have to go to school myself, okay? I'll come back and see you soon, I promise."

"Okay," Teddy said. He looked upset, but was obviously trying not to. Dennis chuckled.

"You be good for Mr Stevenson today, okay?" Dennis said, hugging Teddy again. "I don't want to hear that you got in trouble."

"I'll be good," Teddy said. With that, the boy entered into the gates to the school. Dennis watched as Teddy found someone he obviously knew and started talking. It was as if Teddy's mood had changed immediately. He was much happier. Dennis remembered what it was like at that age and to have new friends. He was glad that Teddy found some other kids who wanted him around. For a second he thought of Colin.

As Dennis got into his car to drive back to his parents', he saw something odd. Across the street from the school was a man. Dennis couldn't see his face because it was covered by something, and he had a hood over his head. Dennis saw him walk down the street. His mind jumped to the man being a wizard, but then he realised that the man was just too well-dressed considering. Most wizards, especially those that would be affiliated with the Ministry at this point, had no idea how to dress in the Muggle world. Taking solace in that, he started the car. He looked over into the schoolyard and found that Teddy was looking at him. Dennis waved to Teddy who waved enthusiastically back.

When Dennis got back, his mother was up and eating some toast.

"How'd it go?" she asked. Dennis smiled.

"It was fine," he said. "He asked me if I had to go." His mother laughed.

"He's always doing that," she said humourously. "'When can I see Dennis?'. 'When will Dennis be here?'. 'Can Dennis come to dinner?'. It's cute."

"I guess," Dennis said.

"It is," his mother insisted. "It's good that he likes you this much. It's helped your father and I get used to having him around, and I think it's helped him get used to living here."

"I'll try and get here more often," Dennis said with a wry smile. "I did get you into this."

"Nonsense," his mother said. "Your father and I love doing this. It's good to have someone else in the house. It's silenced a few ghosts we've had for a few years." Dennis knew she wasn't being literal. He wanted to ask whether she had been into Colin's room, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He had not been back in there himself.

When he got to his apartment, he found that no one else was there and he had some time to kill. He pulled out the book that Umbridge had given him and started to read. He found himself reading the book more and more often recently, even sometimes neglecting some things he had to do for some of his classes as a result. It was important, though, if he was ever going to teach Teddy.

After about an hour, he decided that it would be best to just get to his classes early. He only had two classes, but he enjoyed both of them, so he didn't mind that he had to go. There was one class that he didn't enjoy, which he was glad he didn't have.

The following day, Dennis had a few classes. When he got to the final lecture, the lecturer was waffling on as usual. Dennis sat in a small lecture room, surrounded by people who were busily taking notes. Dennis, too, was writing but was finding that it was all just nonsense to him. He didn't enjoy the class at all so his mind started to drift to other things. Having just spent the weekend at home, spending time with his parents and Teddy, his main thoughts were about that.

However, Dennis also found himself worrying about the magical side of things in his life. Part of him still felt guilty for bringing Patrick and Sam into it, but he knew there was nothing else for it. At first, Sam had been reluctant to believe everything that Dennis had told her, but she eventually came around. For a while, Dennis thought that she was deliberately avoiding their apartment because of it, as she was spending so much time with her boyfriend, but he soon realised that he was just worrying too much as when her boyfriend broke up with her, Sam sent more time at the apartment.

In a way, Dennis was pleased that they knew, as it made things around the house easier. He was able to use magic more openly around them, making usually harder tasks much easier. They appreciated this a lot, as both of them were quite lazy, if Dennis was being truthful. As it was, their lives were mostly made easier by magic. Dennis did refuse to do some things with magic, mainly because he didn't feel like he should rely too much on it. They didn't seem to understand why, but didn't hound him about it too much.

Dennis couldn't help but be concerned about the possibility that the Ministry would find him and attack. He kept telling himself that if they hadn't found him for five years, they wouldn't do it now, but he also knew that Umbridge had found him fairly easily when she wanted to. It made him worried, and every day he spent a great deal of time looking out for anyone who might be going to attack him or, more importantly, Patrick and Sam. Even though he knew they would hate his feeling this, he felt responsible for them when it came to magic. He wasn't sure that he could actually protect them if it came to that, but he would at least try.

In no time at all, the lecture was over and Dennis realised that he had not written a great deal. He reserved to talk to a few people he knew in the class and ask them whether he could use their notes. There was a scurry to exit the lecture hall, with a lot of people going to another class. Dennis' day, however, was over, so he was in no rush. He waited as the vast majority of people left and then picked up his bag, slung it on his back and walked out of the hall. As he lived only ten minutes away, he didn't drive that morning, so he headed off towards his apartment.

It was quiet as he walked, Dennis found. It was really only Tuesdays when it was this quiet, as he finished earlier than usual, so not many people were out and about. He walked past a few apartment blocks and then turned a corner. He heard a pop behind him, and reacted almost instinctively. He had his fingers on his wand when he was hit in the back by a spell.

His eyes flew open to reveal a room lit only by a dim oil lamp on the table in front of him. Dennis tried to move, but found that he was magically connected to the chair and couldn't escape. His heart started pounding and he kept trying to escape the chair. He saw that his bag was on the floor next to him.

"You aren't going to get out," a voice said from across the room. Dennis couldn't see who it was, but the voice sounded odd. Almost distorted, like when the Muggle news wants to protect someone, so they alter the voice.

"Who are you?" Dennis asked, his heart still racing. His arms were somehow bound behind the chair, so he couldn't even reach for his wand which he saw was in front of him on the table.

"A friend," the distorted voice said.

"Some friend," Dennis complained, struggling against his invisible binds again.

"I do apologise for having to bind you like that," the voice said. "Unfortunately, I have deemed it necessary. My safety is important."

"I wouldn't hurt you," Dennis said. "I just want to go."

"I know you wouldn't," the voice said again. Dennis thought that it sounded softer somehow. "The Creeveys never had a violent bone in their bodies."

"How do you know me?" Dennis asked quickly.

"That is not important," the voice said. "I need you to know, that I am sorry for this. I wish things were different."

"You could at least show yourself," Dennis said. He was starting to calm down a bit now, realising that the person probably meant him no harm.

"Reasonable," the voice replied. A moment later, a man stepped out of the shadows. He was average height, though made himself seem much larger. He had a hood covering his head and a bandanna covering the lower half of his face. Dennis could only just see his eyes. The man was wearing a thick leather jacket, with a hooded jumper underneath. He was also wearing dark cargo pants and black gloves. Around his neck was a silver chain that ended with an odd symbol, almost like an eye. "I cannot do more than this, so don't ask."

"Who are you?" Dennis asked.

"You asked me that already, I'm afraid," the man said. "My answer remains the same. I cannot reveal myself, even to you. Danger lies everywhere."

Dennis looked around the room. The oil lamp was illuminating enough that he could see the walls of the room. They were covered in Muggle post-it notes of indeterminable colours. There were words written on them that Dennis couldn't make out because of the darkness. Dennis did notice that there were light fittings in the roof that meant that the room was not usually this dark.

"I take it you don't work for the Ministry, then?" Dennis asked. The man shook his head.

"No, fortunately," he said. "They have done enough to me that I would rather spend my life in Azkaban than work for them."

"In that case, you could have just spoken to me," Dennis said angrily. "You didn't need to attack me in the street."

"Perhaps," the man said slowly. "Then again, I didn't know your stance on things. For all I knew, you were some psychopath."

"I'm not the one with sticky notes all over my walls," Dennis said. The man laughed.

"Yes, I suppose that is true," he said with some mirth. "Though I am not a psychopath. Then again, if I were a psychopath, would I even know?"

"You don't seem so sure," Dennis said.

"I'm not," the man said seriously. "I've been through quite a bit these last five years."

Dennis watched as he took off the glove of his right hand and rolled up the sleeves of his right arm. The hand was almost completely black, as if burned. Dennis cringed.

"Not a pretty sight, to be sure," the man said. Dennis felt, though he could not be certain, that the man was smiling. A scar from the Battle of Hogwarts. I am lucky, truly. So many others were burnt much worse. At least I still have use of the hand thanks to the wonders of magic."

"Were you at the Battle?" Dennis asked, curiously.

"Indeed," the man replied. "I was in the Hall when it burned."

"Everyone in the Great Hall died," Dennis said.

"As I said," the man replied, "I am lucky."

"Why me?" Dennis asked suddenly. "Why take me?"

"Two reasons. Firstly …" the man replied, reaching his left hand into his pocket as his right hand held his wand pointed at Dennis. Dennis found that he could now move his arms, though not his entire body. The man passed Dennis something. Dennis saw that it was the picture of Dumbledore's Army that he had found missing from Colin's scrapbook.

"Where did you find this?" Dennis asked, looking up at the man.

"I found it," he replied. "After the Battle I wandered the halls of Hogwarts and found this on the ground. I feel that you should have it."

Dennis looked at the picture in his hands. He found Colin standing there with an arm around a younger Dennis. Colin was grinning and waving at the camera. It was the only time at Hogwarts that Dennis remembered Colin being truly happy, and it felt nice to see the picture again. It was a shame, Dennis felt, that nearly everyone in the picture was dead.

"Thank you," Dennis said sincerely. He thought about picking up his wand, but decided that it wasn't worth the risk. "You said two reasons."

"I did, yes," the man said. "The second reason is to ask you some questions. I am trying to discover what is going on in the resistance movement against the Ministry. Ever since the death of Xenophilius Lovegood, there has been a severe lack of any kind of movement against the new magical government, even though I feel like there is likely more than I have seen."

"I don't know anything about that," Dennis said. It wasn't truly a lie. He didn't really think that Umbridge classified as part of a resistance movement.

"Be that as it may," the man replied. "I still want to ask you some questions. When I've done so, you will be free to go."

Dennis nodded. It was the only thing he could do. He wasn't sure that he could trust this man, but there wasn't much else he could do. The man nodded as well.

"What do you know about the death of Augusta Longbottom?" the man asked.

"I only knew one Longbottom, and that was Neville. I assume Augusta was his grandmother?" Dennis asked. When the man replied in the affirmative, Dennis shook his head. "I haven't kept up with anything to do with the magical community, so I don't know anything about the death."

"What about Xenophilius Lovegood?" the man asked as soon as Dennis was finished talking.

"Again, I only knew Luna Lovegood," Dennis replied. "I know that her father ran _The Quibbler_, but that's it really. I haven't heard anything."

"What do you know about Susan Bones?" the man asked, just as quickly as before.

"I knew of her from school, but we never really spoke," Dennis replied, thinking about her in Dumbledore's Army.

"What about these days?" the man insisted.

"Nothing," Dennis said. "Is she alive?"

"Yes, but the fact that you have to ask that shows me that you don't know anything about that," the man said. He sounded slightly frustrated. "What about Justin Finch-Fletchley?"

"I'm sorry, but I just don't know," Dennis said, trying to make him understand. "I have not been involved in any way. I would have assumed they were all dead."

"Cho Chang?" the man asked, his voice continuing to become more and more frustrated.

"No, I'm sorry," Dennis said quickly.

"Marietta Edgecomb?" the man asked, his voice suddenly getting quicker. "Michael Corner? Mundungus Fletcher? Amos Diggory? Dedalus Diggle? Hestia Jones? Angelina Johnson? Katie Bell? Alicia Spinnet? Any of them?"

"Look, I wish I could help you, I really do," Dennis cut in. "I just don't know anything about any of them. Not now, anyway."

Dennis could see that the man's eyes, the only part of the man that he could see, looked pained. There was a haunted quality to them, and Dennis couldn't help but feel bad for him. The man breathed in, and Dennis wondered just how much that did given the bandana around his mouth.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly. "I got carried away. I'm trying so hard, and it's so frustrating to see everyone who could be involved just living their lives without a care in the damn world. Even the ones that were trying before seem to have given up. I don't blame them, or you, for doing just that. What has happened in the last five years, perhaps even longer, would keep even the bravest away. I had hoped that there would be a resistance still there. Harry Potter died for us that day. So many others did as well. The least we can do is to fight back. Kill the ones who made our world so despicable that nobody wants to go back."

"I don't want to kill anyone," Dennis said. "Maybe it's what they deserve, but I can't do it. They killed my brother, but he would never have killed any of them. Nor would Harry Potter."

"And they're both dead," the man pointed out. "Harry and Colin did what they believed was right. As did Albus Dumbledore. All three are dead now, and those that survive are the ones who would kill for fun. Wizarding Britain needs people who are prepared to do what needs to be done, not those who would never kill, if it is ever to get back to the way it was. This will not go away until those that want it to stay go away."

"The most powerful wizard in the world –" Dennis was cut off before he could say what he wanted.

"Is You-Know-Who," the man said gruffly. "We could debate philosophy all day, and I would probably welcome you to stay here, but you are not what I need."

The man pointed his wand at Dennis' head.

Dennis woke up with a headache, feeling the cold cement under him.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" a woman asked him. Dennis looked at his surroundings. He was not far from his apartment.

"I think so," he said, pushing himself to his feet. He noticed that the sun was lower than it had been when he left his class. "I must have collapsed."

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" the woman asked him. Dennis shook his head and picked up his bag.

"I think I'll be okay," he said. "I just have a bit of a headache. But thank you anyway."

"If you say so," she said. She walked away slowly and Dennis started walking. He reached into his pocket and found his wand. He could also feel two other things in his pocket as well. He pulled them out. The first thing made him stop walking.

It was a picture of Dumbledore's Army that Dennis had found ripped out of Colin's scrapbook. Dennis looked at the picture in disbelief and looked around him. He had no idea how he had gotten it. He looked for a while at Colin in the picture, smiling with his arm around younger Dennis and waving at the camera. Dennis then looked at the piece of paper he had found in his pocket as well. He unfolded it and read the beautifully written words.

_Dennis,_

_Be careful. The Death Eaters can be unpredictable and strike at any moment, especially if they think there might be something important for them. I know you are inclined to stay out of wizarding affairs, but this may become increasingly difficult. Be wary._

_Enjoy the picture._

It was signed only by a rather strange symbol that looked like an eye.


	11. Learning to See

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Learning to See**_

"_The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled. Each evening we see the sun set. We know that the earth is turning away from it. Yet the knowledge, the explanation, never quite fits the sight."  
_- John Berger ("Ways of Seeing")

_**Luna Lovegood**_

_**29**__**th**__** November, 2003**_

Luna was reading through a rather thick and very old book from the Black family library about the origins of magic. She wasn't entirely interested in things like this, but since the incident with Matt Fogarty a few weeks before the occupants of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place had been scouring the library looking for an answer. They had no doubt now that Matt had somehow gained magical powers, but it remained a mystery how it had happened.

Though Bill and Hermione had attempted to dissuade Wendy and Robert from going back to their home, they had decided to go anyway. Luna agreed with Bill and Hermione. Greyback may want to finish the job. Wendy and Robert, as nice as they were, didn't understand the risk and there wasn't much else that they could do to convince them. The most that they agreed to was spending the next full moon at Number Twelve as a precaution. They had also called them twice, letting them know that Matt had been accidentally doing magic.

Luna didn't feel that the book she was reading had the answers that they were looking for, as the authors didn't even seem to have any concrete reasons as to why magic even exists, so Luna found it hard to believe that they would know how it could suddenly manifest itself in a Muggle. What small chapter about Muggles there had been had not been at all helpful. Luna put the book down and found a book on Divination to read.

The subject of Divination intrigued Luna greatly, and her interest had only increased over the years. She had always felt that there was more of a connection with something that wasn't physical, though when she was younger she was content to hoist this off as the presence of some animal or other. While she still believed in Nargles and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, Luna had begun to reason that some of the things that she had attributed to these sorts of creatures were something else entirely. That was what drove her to study Divination, even if it did seem a bit odd to everyone else, and even to her sometimes.

Luna was seated in the loungeroom in an armchair near Ginny, who was reading a book about werewolves. One that was intensely dark, which is probably why the Black family had included it in their collection. Luna opened the book to the first page and began to read to herself.

_Chapter 3: Learning to See_

_One who has the ability to become a Seer is constantly limited in their knowledge, purely because their abilities need more than a natural course to guide them. This is why a lot of Seers have different objects to tell something about the "Great Beyond", such as it is. Some Seers will rely on tea leaves to tell them something, others on the lines on the palm of another person and some even have the classic crystal ball._

_These methods have varied effectiveness, though they tend to work even for those who do not have the Sight. It is unknown why this is, though there has been speculation for many years that these ways of seeing the future are not based on the ability of the person attempting it, but the universe itself telling someone something, if they know how to look for it. As such, this type of seeing is able to be taught by and to normal people._

_Being a Seer is much different to understanding the principles behind tea leaves and crystal balls, however, and is a much more difficult task, not only physically, but mentally for the Seer involved. It is an unfortunate fact in a lot of cases that a Seer cannot act upon what they See, even if it is something that is something emotional for them to view._

_How does one know if they are a Seer? An important question. Often a person does not know that they have the Sight, or they do not care. It is common among Seers that they started with some vague beliefs about the world that are different to those of others, and more in line with the Mystics of the world, though not in that extreme. The Mystics have a Sight of their own, but are restricted, where Seers are not so and vice versa. A Seer's Sight primarily focuses on events within the physical realm, something that a Mystics does not. However, it is common that a Seer will have a connection to something that is less than physical._

_It is difficult for a Seer to ascertain whether or not they have the Sight. Many books that have been released will say that there is no absolutely certain way to properly ascertain that information, however they would be incorrect on that. There is a way in which a Seer can "activate", so to speak, their abilities. For some Seers, this is not needed, though for others it is vital._

_This test is described below, but there must be a warning in place for this. While not entirely harmful to someone who does not end up having the Sight, as described earlier there could be an emotional cost to a Seer who wishes to fully See. What they See in the induced trance that this creates cannot ever be revealed explicitly. It is not something that a Seer can chose, it is part of their biological make up. Seers cannot ever mention what they See in this trance. It is physically impossible. This is especially hard the first time, as new Seers who activate their abilities will See things closely related to them personally the first time. As time goes on, they will begin to See things less related to them, but there is a risk at the beginning._

_It is possible, however, for a Seer to use what they know to subtly influence people. They simply cannot state what they have Seen, nor infer that it is what has been seen. If their saying something will lead to the visions coming true, than it shall be so. Each Seer is different in this regard. However, no Seer can change what they have Seen._

_Be sure to understand the risk before you take it. The emotional stress cannot be understated. If there is even a chance that this could debilitate you emotionally, do not do it. This is a choice. Make the right one._

The book then went on to explain in great detail how to activate a Seer's power, and Luna started to get excited at the thought. This was the first time reading this particular book, and it was the first mention of how to activate powers. She was not sure that she was a Seer, but she felt that there was a possibility.

"I found it!" Ginny shouted triumphantly. Luna looked up to see her grinning broadly and pointing at the book.

"I'll get the others," Luna said quickly and left the lounge area. She found them all relatively quickly and soon they were gathered in the living room. Bill briefly discussed Flooing Draco and Astoria, but they decided to wait until Ginny had explained.

"I've found something," Ginny said. "It isn't one hundred percent certain, but it's the best lead we have.

"As we know, Matt was attacked by Greyback and scratched. This book says that a werewolf's scratch will do little damage unless, like with Bill, the scratches are deep and multiple. Also, it says that a scratched child is less likely to gain any werewolf qualities than an adult. I know this isn't a lot, but there's more.

"There's a chapter in here about eclipses and the effect on werewolves," Ginny continued. No one was interrupting her, which was for the best. "It says here that both lunar and solar eclipses have effects on magical abilities, making magic somewhat stronger during the period of the eclipses, and for some time beforehand as well. It says that lunar eclipses are more important because they last for a longer time than a solar eclipse does.

"It goes on to say that a total lunar eclipse is actually a great deal stronger. As Bill pointed out to Hermione the day we saved Matt, there was a total lunar eclipse. It plays havoc with magic. Where a lesser eclipse would only strengthen some magic, a total lunar eclipse weakens some as well, such as the tracking spell that Bill placed on Greyback. There's more, though. I'll read the next part out in full,

"_There have been rumours for centuries about the effect of a total lunar eclipse on werewolves. Some have claimed over the years that the eclipse strengthens the werewolves and makes them more vicious towards their victims. There is some numbers that support this theory, as when a total lunar eclipse occurs, there is a slight rise in werewolf attacks. There is more to this, however. Most of the attacks that occur in that time period have been fatal, whether attacking Muggles or those of magical origin. The fatality rate at a total lunar eclipse is much larger than those of other full moons. Interestingly, there is a tale told of a werewolf in the midst of a total lunar eclipse. And it is as follows:_" Ginny took a breath before continuing.

"_When the moon was a blood red, a werewolf strode among a forest, searching for prey. All senses enhanced, the werewolf came upon something much faster than usual. A Muggle encampment. It found a boy, no older than eight, and attacked. In seconds, Muggles came upon the beast and drove it off, back into the jungle, wounded and dying. The boy had only a scratch. It is said that he died the following day from an outburst of magic. It is certain that the boy was of Muggle origin, making the death unheard of and unexplainable. The Muggle encampment blamed the death on the beast and on their Gods, devoting their life to hunting down and killing the creature, though they never saw it again._

"_This story has died out in recent years, and it is uncertain as to whether it has any basis in reality. It could simply be a story to increase the hatred towards an extremely dark creature._"

"Of course!" Hermione explained as Ginny finished talking. "Why didn't we think about that?"

"So it was Greyback and the eclipse?" Fleur asked, and Hermione and Ginny nodded.

"Seems that way," Ginny said, giving the book to Hermione to read. "It's all we have, but it does kind of make sense. Total lunar eclipses do have power. Just look at Bill's tracking spell for that."

"So, this means that when there's a total lunar eclipse, werewolves have the ability to pass on magic, even to Muggles?" Charlie asked, amazed. "I'm surprised that it isn't more widely known."

"It doesn't seem like something that happens often," Bill replied, thinking. "These types of eclipses don't happen very often, and then there's the fact that the kid needs to be Muggle and scratched. Plus, even if it did happen, it's unlikely that the magical community would know about it, because they wouldn't much care."

"It's good we had Draco," Luna said. The others looked at her strangely. "The boy in the story died because of that outburst. If Draco hadn't been with us at the time, the same would have happened to Matt."

"Matt may actually be the first Muggle to get magical abilities," Charlie speculated. "Here's hoping this doesn't get out. This would just be something more for the Death Eaters to jump on. They already thought that Muggle-borns had stolen the magic from someone else. This is too close to that."

"Would Matt have the Trace?" Fleur asked. Hermione, having studied the Trace extensively, had removed it from Fleur's children, but no one had thought about Matt.

"I don't think so," Bill replied. "I think the Trace is put on children at birth. It's pretty much automatic. I think the object that does it for the United Kingdom is in the Department of Mysteries. It wouldn't hurt to check him, though. He would be safer."

"Well," Hermione said, having read everything through herself. "You're all right of course. Matt needs to be checked for the Trace as soon as possible. I've just read it all through. It can't be certain that this is true, but it's all that we've got. It's useful to know all this anyway. Not that it will happen again, but if werewolves are stronger and more vicious at eclipses, that could be important."

"Matt said that Greyback let him go," Luna said, remembering talking to the boy about his ordeal. "Why would Greyback play with him like that if he was more vicious?"

"This book was written before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered," Hermione said. "Perhaps the Wolfsbane Potion also mitigated the effects of the eclipse, at least in terms of the mindset of Greyback at the time."

"How do we know he was using Wolfsbane?" Charlie asked.

"Because in his werewolf state without it, the urge to kill is greater than the urge to play with its food, to put it bluntly," Hermione replied. "Greyback would not have chased Matt as much as he did if he hadn't used it."

"But why would he use it?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe You-Know-Who is forcing him to," Hermione suggested. "A controlled werewolf is better than a wild one, I would assume."

"What do we tell him?" Charlie asked. "And Wendy and Robert?"

"The truth," Hermione said fervently. "Their son was attacked because we let it happen."

"It wasn't supposed to happen that way," Bill said, but Hermione shut him down with a look.

"We should have recognised what the eclipse was going to do to the tracking spell earlier," Hermione said. "If we had, we could have made other plans and Matt wouldn't have been attacked at all. Neither would Angelina."

"You didn't know the importance," Bill replied. "It's not widely known what total lunar eclipses do to magic. We did right by Matt, and his parents agree on that."

"We should still tell them the truth regardless," Hermione stated firmly. Bill nodded.

"I agree with you, but don't go beating yourself up about the fact that Matt was attacked," he said, equally as firmly as Hermione had spoken.

"What's done is done," Fleur agreed.

Bill and Fleur were about to head back to Shell Cottage with the kids for the night when Luna stopped them.

"I was hoping to use Shell Cottage for something," she said to them both. They looked slightly surprised.

"Of course," Bill said in reply. "May I ask what it's for?"

"I found something in a book on Divination I want to try, and I would rather do it on my own," Luna explained. "Ginny's helping me with a potion, and it will take two days to finish. I'll need to use the cottage then."

"Is it safe?" Fleur asked.

"I think so," Luna replied casually. "Ginny's looked it over and she thinks it's safe. She would know. She doesn't necessarily think that it will work, but that's okay. She's still going to help me out."

"Alright," Bill said. "Just let us know, and we'll make sure to get out of your way."

The following day, Luna, Ginny, Bill and Hermione visited Wendy, Robert and Matt. They had discussed who would go, and decided that Fleur and Charlie would stay at Number Twelve with the kids and just in case Draco and Astoria visited. They had visited twice since discovering them hiding out there. Bill had allowed for the Floo to be connected to their home at Spinner's End, so they could get to Grimmauld Place if they needed to.

Ginny explained to the family what she had read in the book, and they were remarkably understanding of the situation. Hermione and Bill explained as best they could about Greyback and werewolves in general. As with everyone, the idea of Greyback sickened Wendy, Robert and Matt. Hermione made certain to explain that not all werewolves are bad, using Remus Lupin as an example. Luna was there mainly because she had formed a connection with the ten year old, and they thought that it would be good for her to be there.

"Of course, we need to talk about how he's going to be taught," Hermione said, perhaps a little too matter-of-factly. Wendy and Robert shared a glance.

"We were hoping to keep him out of your world," Robert said bluntly.

"No offence, of course," Wendy put in. "You are all very nice, but it doesn't sound like something Matt should be involved in."

"Trust us," Bill said seriously, "we would agree with you completely on that, but for one unfortunate detail. Now that Matt has magical abilities, he needs to learn how to use them properly. An untrained wizard is a danger to themselves and those around them."

"What do you mean?" Wendy asked, a scared look on her face. Ginny decided to talk now, knowing the most about these things.

"When Matt had that fit, it was his magic trying to escape," Ginny explained. "If he keeps his magic bottled up like that, a fit like that is bound to happen again. It has been well documented in our society. It's why Hogwarts, the school we all went to, insists on Muggle-born children attend. If they don't learn to work magic properly, it bottles up and is released. That will happen to Matt again, and we may not be around to save him. We barely were the first time. If it weren't for Draco Malfoy, of all people, your son would be dead."

"So you're saying that we have no choice?" Robert asked, slightly irritated.

"We would rather not have," Bill said. "But, yes, that's what we're saying. We won't kidnap him or anything like that, but we will have to insist on it."

"What exactly would it be?" Wendy asked.

"Much like education at Hogwarts was for us," Bill said. "Except we won't force him to stay with us, because it would be unfair to him. He will basically come to Number Twelve five days a week, and we'll all teach him various subjects. Then he can go home every afternoon."

"What about his proper schooling?" Wendy asked. Hermione looked at her with an odd look.

"I'm afraid he will have to be taken out of Muggle school," Hermione said. Wendy and Robert both started to protest. "I know that it isn't ideal, but it's either that or he will have to deal with two lots of schooling, which I'm sure you recognise is just too much."

"He's only ten," Robert said. "Can't it wait?"

"Trust me, I understand," Hermione said. "I'm Muggle-born myself, and I had to be taken out of my school to go to Hogwarts. I was very good, too. It's just necessary. It's all we can say. We will probably wait until he's eleven anyway."

"Don't I get a say?" Matt asked. He was sitting next to Luna, and she saw that he was stuck somewhere between awe and annoyance. "I want to do it."

"That's all well and good," Wendy told her son, "but this isn't some choice that you just make. There's more to it."

"It's dangerous," Matt said simply. Luna wasn't surprised that he had grasped it all so well. She could tell that he was a smart kid. "It will be dangerous whether I get taught or not."

"He's right," Luna put in. "If he doesn't get taught by us, chances are his magic will kill him. If we teach him, we will do our best to keep him out of the world we live in, so he's in very little danger. We understand the position you're in, but you must understand that it is vital that he learns what he can. And that means in everything that he can."

"Can't you just teach him enough so that it doesn't kill him?" Wendy asked, pained. "Like tutoring?"

"I don't think that would be enough," Hermione said. "He has to get used to using magic. After some time, he won't be dangerous to himself. When that time comes, maybe we can talk about stopping it."

"You're not going to let us choose any other way, are you?" Robert asked gloomily.

"I'm afraid not," Bill told him.

"You said you wouldn't start until he's eleven," Robert said. "Why?"

"It gives us time to get ourselves organised," Hermione said. "We need to find someone who can either make Matt a wand or supply one for him. There's probably one in France, now that I think about it. Plus, Hogwarts started when we were eleven, so it makes sense to continue that."

"His birthday is June the 9th," Robert explained. "Is he in any danger until then?"

"We can't know," Ginny said. "The only information we have about his situation is limited, so we can't know what will happen. It may be that he will have another fit. The fact that he is doing accidental magic is likely a good sign. That's how magic usually acts before the age of eleven."

"Okay, fine," Robert said gruffly after looking at his wife. "We'll allow this. Until the end of this school year, Matt will continue to go to school. After that, we will withdraw him and you can teach him. If things change in the future, we want to know that you will allow us to withdraw him."

"If we think it's safe to, we will allow it in the future," Bill said calmly.

"What about costs?" Wendy asked. Bill shook his head.

"We have more than enough money," he said. "We will do it and provide everything Matt needs for free. You don't need to pay us anything."

"That is a relief," Wendy said. Luna thought it was slightly sarcastic, but she could also tell that there was something of proper relief in her voice.

"The good thing is that we can monitor Matt until then," Ginny said. "Angelina is his teacher, so if anything happens, she can call us. If it happens here, you can call us. He will be safe until then, I promise."

"That said, we still think you should move," Bill said. Robert shook his head.

"We just moved here," he replied. "We don't have the time or money to move again."

"The wards will have to do then," Bill said, resignedly. Bill had put up wards around their house that would inform him if anyone with ill intent tried to enter the home, or even get near it. If it happened, Luna and the others would be there in a heartbeat.

The next day, Ginny gave Luna a flask with a light pink liquid in it. The potion was ready, and Luna knew that she would only have about twenty-four hours to do it. Luckily, Bill and Fleur were at Grimmauld Place, so Luna was able to head straight to Shell Cottage.

Not wanting to waste any time, Luna sat on the floor of the living room with her legs crossed. She started to breathe in and out. She and the others had learned how to use Occlumency, and the book had said that that particular skill could come in handy for a potential Seer. Luna closed her mind as she knew how to, and then drank the contents of the flask.

The effects were almost instant. Luna began to feel drowsy, though she found that she didn't move from the position she was in. Slowly, the colour of Shell Cottage faded away, leaving Luna sitting, surrounded by only the darkest dark. Luna's mind was focusing on the exercises she had learned to empty her mind. She did not know how long she had sat in the darkness before colour started to return, but not recreating Shell Cottage. It, instead, formed itself into something different.

Luna found herself sitting on the wooden floor of a long hallway. The hallway was dimly lit, though Luna couldn't tell where it was lit from. The hallway stretched forward and Luna could see that there was another wall at the end, with a painting hanging. There were more frames hanging along the walls of the hallway as well, though Luna could not tell what they were. She could see three doorways, two on the right and one on the left. Other than that, there was nothing remarkable or recognisable about the hallway.

Luna soon realised that she could now move. She got to her feet, and found that she felt as light as a feather. As she walked, she could feel the varnished floor under her feet, and yet it never felt as though she so much as touched it. Before the first door on the right, she saw a small frame hanging on the wall. She looked at it. She recognised it immediately. It was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. She made a mental note that they must be more important than they had originally thought.

On the opposite wall was another frame, bigger this time. It was a painting of a man with a hood over his head and the rest of his face covered by a bandana. As Luna watched, the man in the painting removed his glove and showed his burned hand. She wanted to speak, but found that she couldn't. She looked into the eyes of the painting for a moment before turning to the first door on the right.

She turned the doorknob on the door, and pushed it open. When she walked through into the darkness, she looked over her shoulder and saw that the door remained open. When she turned back, she was treated to an image of a beautiful white palace, surrounded by a lot of flowers and blossoming trees. Every so often there was a fountain with pristine, crystal clear water.

There was an ear-piercing shriek and Luna's hands went to her ears and her eyes instinctively closed. The shriek was inhuman, and went on for a long time. When it finally finished, Luna opened her eyes and saw that the Palace was gone, replaced by green all around. As Luna watched, a few drops of blood fell past her face. Then, she saw flesh falling. She was pulled out of the door in an instant, and was back in the hallway. She tried the doorknob, but found that she couldn't open it any more.

Luna's ears stopped ringing, and she turned to face the hallway again. She saw yet another frame to her right. She looked at it. It was larger than the second one, and was a painting of Hogwarts. It was moving, and there were students happily playing in the grounds. In the bottom left corner of the painting was a signature that Luna didn't recognise.

The next door was on the left. Luna felt compelled not to open it, but found herself doing so anyway. She wondered to herself if she even had a choice.

When she opened it, she saw only darkness. She expected it to change, but it didn't. The darkness remained. Luna was convinced that she could hear someone's heavy breathing. It was not her own, because she realised that she wasn't breathing herself. Then someone screamed. It didn't last longer than ten seconds, but it was so pained that it hurt Luna to hear it.

"I'm not going to beg you," a deep male voice said, breathing heavily again. "Not now. Not ever."

The next voice was one Luna chilled Luna to her bones. It was a voice she had heard only a few times in her lifetime, but she would never forget it for as long as she lived.

"We'll see," Voldemort said, his voice a mixture of annoyance and pleasure that sickened Luna to hear.

The male voice screamed again as Luna was forcibly pulled from the room, as she had been before.

Luna turned once again to the hallway. Next to the door, there was another frame on the wall. This time it was not a painting, but a still image of the entrance to the Department of Mysteries with a red circle around it.

Luna came upon the final door in the hallway, and turned the next doorknob. Once again, she found herself in darkness. She blinked once and found that she was in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. She glanced behind her to see the door was still open. Luna found that she was standing at the fountain, looking out over a large group of people. Their faces seemed obscured somehow, as if they didn't even have any. There were three people on their knees in front of her, so Luna walked around them to get a better look, and gasped.

Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell were on their knees in front of a crowd of people. _An execution_, Luna realised. She looked next to them, and saw Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed all in pink except for his golden cape and his blue vest. She saw him holding three wands in his hands. She felt something and turned around just in time to see Voldemort apparate into the Atrium in a cloud of black smoke. His red eyes gleamed like rubies.

Luna was pulled out of that room, and found herself once again in the hallway, staring at the door. She felt upset, but somehow felt as though her body didn't register it. Or, perhaps, couldn't. She turned and looked towards the final painting at the end of the hallway.

It was a Muggle painting, as it didn't move, that looked eerily similar to a picture she had once seen taken by Colin Creevey during one of the Dumbledore's Army meetings. It was different however. There were different people involved, some who Luna recognised and others that she didn't. They were all standing in the Great Hall, smiles on their faces. Luna thought that they looked older than they should. It was only as she saw the area around her start to go black that she realised that there were people disappearing from the painting as she looked. Her heart started racing and she tried to see who had disappeared.

It was too late, as the darkness soon enveloped her. The colour came back after a moment, and Luna found that she was sitting on the floor of Shell Cottage once again. She checked her watch, and only a minute had passed.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Okay, so the chapter was longer than I thought it would be, which is a good thing, really. I liked writing this chapter. Basically, the way it will work is that Luna, Hermione, Charlie, Ginny, Bill and Fleur will have chapters where they are the main point of view, but they won't be used as often as the others. The main four are Dennis, Draco, Justin and Angelina. That said, I'm trying not to impose too much on myself with my story, as I know that's usually my downfall.

I made up all that stuff about the total lunar eclipse and Seeing. It's not at all canon, but it's the way I'm using it in this story. I think it stands to reason for the most part. All I'm saying is that I know that this isn't confirmed.

Thanks to _TheFantabulousPotterHead_ for reviewing once again!

If you have any thoughts, just leave me a review below. Or you can PM me if you like.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I'll see you all in the next chapter.

**_~Colin, The Master of Whisperers_**


	12. The First Full Moon

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 12**_

_**The First Full Moon**_

"_When you can look a thing dead in the eye, acknowledge that it exists, call it exactly what it is, and decide what role it will take in your life then, my Beloved, you have taken the first step toward your freedom."_  
- Iyanla Vanzant

_**Angelina Johnson**_

_**7**__**th**__** December, 2003**_

Angelina was spending her Sunday night at Grimmauld Place, as Ginny had suggested that she visit them the night before the night of the first full moon after she had been bitten. Ginny had worked out how to make the Wolfsbane Potion, so Angelina would not be a threat to herself or others. Also, the six at Grimmauld Place offered to let her stay at the house for the duration of the transformation. Angelina knew that this was more for the benefit of everyone else than for herself, but she knew that was how it had to be.

The morning that Angelina was bitten had been a Monday, so she had to miss a day's work. Luckily for her, Alicia managed to contact the school and tell them that she would not be in. Thankfully, mostly due to Ginny's help, Angelina was on her feet and well enough to go to work on the Tuesday, though she knew that she looked a bit worse for wear. She had only the faintest scar on her leg, however. Once again, Ginny had done her best for her. The fact that she had acted so quickly had helped things. Angelina was well aware that she might have died had Ginny not been there, which was even more disturbing given the circumstances.

When Angelina had found out who had saved her, she was quite shocked. She had lived under the assumption for years that these people had all died in the Battle of Hogwarts, or at least the ones that she knew. She had not really known Bill or Charlie Weasley very well. The others she was acquainted with. She quickly, and hopefully, asked if the twins had survived. When they had told her they hadn't, Angelina felt upset with herself for getting her hopes up. She tried not to dwell on it, however, and attempted to focus on the people that had survived. It was for the best.

She had come to after Draco Malfoy and his wife had left. Everyone filled her in about what had happened with them. While she was slow to trust that Draco Malfoy, of all people, could be trusted, she had come to the conclusion that people could change. Angelina had always tried to believe in the best in people, even when others might not.

She had been quite excited when everyone talked about ways to bring down the Ministry the day that she was bitten. She told them that she would help as much as she could, and Alicia and Katie agreed. As much as they wished to just be able to live their lives peacefully without worrying about the magical world and what was going on there, there was always a sense of guilt that they had let this happen. She wanted to fight back, even if it was in a limited capacity.

"This is going to taste really foul," Ginny said, giving the potion to Angelina in an urn-like casing. "Under no circumstances try to make it taste better. Sugar makes the potion useless if it's added to it."

"When do I take it?" Angelina asked.

"I would suggest tomorrow morning," Ginny replied. "Although it says that the potion stays in your system for a few days, and will still have the same results."

"Tomorrow it is," Angelina replied, sitting the potion on the coffee table in front of her. "Will I be able to work tomorrow?"

"You should," Ginny responded. "You might feel a bit more aggravated than usual, but it should be fine. You might want to take a calming potion before you go to work. I've read that it can be helpful."

"And Tuesday?" Angelina asked hopefully. Ginny looked dubious.

"I don't know," Hermione put in. Angelina was alone with just the two of them. Katie was at work, and Alicia had stayed at home. "Remus always used to take a few days off."

"I'd rather not do that," Angelina said. "It would get suspicious after a while."

"I might be able to try and make a few potions," Ginny mused. "We might be able to make something to sustain you through classes, but afterwards, you'll have to just go through it."

"That's all I'm asking," Angelina replied.

"If it's too bad, just don't go," Hermione said seriously. "The first time is probably the worst. We don't really know what it will be like."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Angelina asserted. Hermione and Ginny shared a look, but said nothing. "It will."

"We'll see I guess," Ginny said.

"How has Matt been in class?" Hermione asked, obviously trying to change the subject. Angelina smiled.

"It's actually funny how much he's changed," she said with a laugh. "He treats me with more respect. Not that he didn't before, of course, but it's more pronounced now."

"Did he tell you that we're going to teach him?" Hermione asked. Angelina nodded.

"He was smart about it too," she said, a slight amount of pride in her tone. "He stayed behind when everyone left and told me. It's the obvious idea. Did you find out how he got the abilities?"

Hermione and Ginny explained to Angelina just what they had discovered, not going into great detail. Angelina felt that what they had discovered made sense, and expressed surprise that something like this wasn't more well-known. She realised as soon as she said it why it wasn't.

"Have you given any thought to teaching other kids?" Angelina asked. Hermione and Ginny looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. "I mean, we're going to teach Victoire and Louis when they're old enough, but that's hardly soon."

"I mean other Muggle-borns," Angelina explained. "There has to be more out there."

"We really hadn't given it any thought," Ginny said, as Hermione said nothing. Angelina noticed that she was thinking.

"Malfoy told us that the Ministry was rounding up the Muggle-born kids and killing them and their families," Hermione said, a sickened look on her face. "He said they do it for newborns and for kids that turn eleven. Apparently they have to do it that way, because there isn't a way to track the ones in between."

"Well, doesn't that mean there are Muggle-born children out there still alive?" Angelina asked, doing some math in her head. "It's been five years since You-Know-Who took over, right? So that means that there are five years' worth of eleven year olds found and murdered. This year, the Muggle-borns they find would have been six when he took over."

"That leaves all the kids younger than that!" Hermione exclaimed. "They're all still alive, but when they turn eleven, they'll be killed. Oh god."

"We need to do something," Ginny said, a pained look on her face. "We can't let this happen."

"We'll help when we can," Angelina said fervently, meaning herself, Alicia and Katie.

"I need to talk to Malfoy," Hermione said quickly.

"What if they have visitors?" Ginny asked, just as Hermione moved to the fireplace.

"I hadn't thought of that," Hermione admitted.

"I think you just need to calm down," Ginny said. "You can't do anything just this minute. Why not send your Patronus? You can make it so that Malfoy only sees it if he is alone or with Astoria. That way, it's safe."

"I should have thought of that," Hermione said, obviously annoyed with herself.

"You feel passionately about the Muggle-born issue," Angelina told her softly. "It makes sense you might not think things through."

Hermione sent her silver otter with a message for Malfoy, who appeared a few minutes later alone. Angelina couldn't help but feel a rush of negative feelings when he appeared, but soon suppressed them, telling herself that he was working for the same thing that they were and that people could change.

"Astoria sends her apologies," Malfoy said politely, something which Angelina was shocked to hear. "She has had a long week and needed some rest today. What's the problem?"

Hermione explained what they had just worked out, and Malfoy looked intrigued as well.

"I'm afraid to say that this thought never occurred to me," he admitted, almost sheepishly. "A by-product of the way I was brought up, most likely. I rarely think of Muggle-borns."

"So what can we do?" Hermione asked. "There are kids out there that will die if we don't do anything."

"I can only tell you what I know," Malfoy said, sitting down. "The way I've been told that it is working, and since I heard about it from Father makes it somewhat reliable, is that they are using the object that dispenses the Trace onto children born with magical abilities. Whenever the object gives a kid the Trace, which is done purely magically with no interaction necessary on the child's part, there is a notification of it having been done. This notification is then handed to someone who checks with various sources. If the child is one that has been born from a Pureblood marriage, and one that has been allowed by the Ministry, there is no action taken. If it is unregistered, the Death Eaters go after them. Response times vary, however."

"Why didn't they come after Fleur?" Ginny asked. Malfoy shrugged.

"Astoria told me that the first child was born in France," he replied. "As such, the Trace would not be given to the child until it took up residence somewhere closer. It's due to restrictions set down by each separate Ministry. The French have their own, so it's their law. I assume someone used something to stop a Trace on her?"

"I did," Hermione said. "Pretty much as soon as Fleur brought Victoire here, I did it. I did it straight away with Louis, though, as he was born here."

"There's your reason," Malfoy said, nodding, and with a smile on his face. He almost looked likable. "As I said, response times vary. Good work, Granger. They might not have been able to track you here, because of the Fidelius, but they would have recognised the Weasley name pretty quickly. Since you acted fast, it mustn't have registered with them quick enough, and then it was gone."

"So if we want to stop that, what would we have to do?" Angelina asked. Malfoy eyed her oddly, as if he was seeing her for the first time.

"There's a list of all of the current witches and wizards with the trace on them in the Department of Magical Information," Malfoy replied. "It's not unlike the Hogwarts admittance list, actually. When a new person has the Trace applied to them, they are added to the list, along with a vague area where they live. Not specific like for Hogwarts. If you wanted to stop the attacks, you would have to get that."

"Why don't they just use the Hogwarts list?" Hermione asked.

"It's somewhat impractical," he replied. "There are no notifications on that list, so it's easier to just go with the one that does the notifying for them."

There was silence for a moment as everyone thought it over.

"Could you get it?" Ginny asked.

"No," Hermione and Malfoy said at the same time. They looked at each other. Draco looked surprised, though Hermione just smiled and said, "I am capable of common sense."

"I can't," Malfoy said, ignoring the last comment. "Not that I wouldn't if I could, but for now my worth is being able to get information like this. Trying to gain this one thing would perhaps have a positive effect, but if I were caught it would be worse for us. You have to weigh risk for reward."

"How would you suggest we get it?" Angelina asked.

"If I'm being honest with you, I don't think you should try at all," Malfoy said bluntly. All three women shot him glances. "Don't look at me like that. I don't like them dying any less than you do. It's pretty much the reason I'm trying to work against them. You just have to look at it fully. If you try to infiltrate the Ministry, there's a high chance you will be found out. And if Granger here is found, or even Ginny, there would be an outcry and the rest of you would be hunted until you are killed. I can't get it without risking myself and Astoria which, at the moment, is important to the cause."

"I can't stand by and let innocents die," Hermione said angrily. Angelina agreed with her, but found that she understood Malfoy's argument as well.

"Innocents always die," Malfoy said simply. It didn't seem to Angelina as though he was trying to be blunt or disrespectful. He was trying to make Hermione understand. "Our job isn't to protect them, it's to stop the people doing the killing. We can't do that if we blunder into things and hoping for the best."

"I know that," Hermione said.

"No, you don't," Malfoy said sharply. "This is the kind of stuff I was taught as a kid. While you were at Muggle school learning whatever it was that they taught you, my Father was teaching me how the world works. He was teaching me, because he knew that the Dark Lord would return. He never said it explicitly, but he knew it. He also knew that I would want to follow in his footsteps, so I had to know things like this if I was to be useful at all. This is second nature to me. I understand the emotions involved. I've seen more than my share of Muggle-born family executions. There is just more to it than emotions. The Dark Lord is the target, not Muggle-borns."

"Can't they both be?" Hermione asked. Ginny was being suspiciously quiet, Angelina noted.

"Perhaps, I'll admit," Malfoy replied. "But the circumstances have to be that there is more reward than risk. At the moment, the people in this house, Angelina's house and Astoria are the only people we know of that are fighting against the Dark Lord. If we're the only ones, we cannot take risks like that lightly."

There was silence in the room once again, as Angelina saw Hermione thinking. She looked pained, and Angelina could understand the feeling. She didn't like it either, but she could see Malfoy's point.

"He's right, Hermione," Ginny said quietly. "You know he is. It's a terrible thing to think that there will be more deaths, but we might be the only ones who can actually end this."

"Fine," Hermione said angrily. "We won't do anything. What about the ones who turn eleven?" Angelina had actually forgotten about that.

"The Hogwarts list was found in McGonagall's office," Malfoy explained. "The Dark Lord had the Unspeakables move it to the Department of Magical Information for ease of access to those that needed it."

"The Unspeakables?" Angelina said, slightly surprised. Malfoy nodded.

"They were the only people who knew how to move it without stopping the charms on it," he explained. "It's still working and when a person turns eleven, their name flashes and their location is given to those that need it. For the most part this isn't useful, but if the children on the list are Muggle-born, the Deputy Head, who had been McGonagall for so long, was required to make a visit to explain things to the families. As a result, it's easier for the Death Eaters to find out where the Muggle-borns are when they need to attack."

"I suppose getting both would still be too risky?" Hermione asked with less anger. Angelina assumed that she was becoming resigned to the idea. "Even if we used polyjuice potion?"

"Unfortunately, that is being cracked down upon after it was revealed that you, Potter and Weasley came into the Ministry using it," Malfoy said, smiling wryly. "I admit, that was genius. Albert Runcorn was a bad choice, though. He pieced it together pretty quickly and told those in charge. Now there are people who check every day. The only people who aren't checked regularly are those that are higher up. It is believed that they are protected well-enough that to check them would be a wasted resource. So, people like Father, Yaxley or even Lockhart aren't checked, but normal workers are."

"Okay, that's good to know," Ginny put in before Hermione could speak. "That would have been disastrous had we tried that."

"Let me say, that it isn't a bad idea," Malfoy said, almost nicely. "If there is ever a chance, take it, but only if there is a very large possibility for success. Whether you like it or not, we are likely the most important people in all of Britain at the moment, and we can't squander that by getting ourselves killed. People are relying on us, even if they don't know it."

With that, Malfoy stood up, said his goodbyes and used the fireplace to go back home. Angelina decided to do the same. She felt that Hermione would need to discuss things with the others, and she felt that it was not necessary for her to be there when they talked about those things.

That night, Angelina wrestled with what Malfoy had said. She knew that he made sense, though she was finding it difficult to believe that anything she was doing was important, but she couldn't help but think about all the people that would die because they didn't take the risk. She decided to look at it a different way. She couldn't do anything about it, so those deaths should lay at the door of those who commit the murders, not her.

The next day was a long one. Angelina had taken the Wolfsbane Potion before eating breakfast. It was the foulest thing she could remember tasting, and she had once been a tester for some of Fred and George's pranks, which often were pretty disgusting. She was, as Ginny had predicted, more irritable as well. She took a calming potion before classes and it helped at least a bit. She found that she was sometimes short with her students, but they either didn't mind or didn't notice. At lunch, Matt approached her as she was leaving the Staff Room. She walked with him to the empty classroom.

"It's the full moon tonight," Matt said simply.

"Yes, it is," Angelina replied. "I'll change tonight."

"I know," Matt said.

"Does that frighten you?" Angelina asked. Matt shook his head. "Why not?"

"Because you aren't like Greyback," Matt said sincerely. "You're actually nice. You won't hurt anyone."

"No, I won't," Angelina agreed. "I promise."

"What will happen?" Matt asked quietly. Angelina felt like not telling him would be wrong.

"When the full moon rises, I will transform into a wolf, like Greyback," she explained. "Because Ginny gave me a potion to have this morning, I won't change completely. I will keep my mind. I'll be locked into a room at Grimmauld Place, and the door will be completely reinforced. They told me that Remus Lupin used to just sleep through it all, so I think that's what I'll do."

"You'll be alone?" Matt asked. Angelina nodded.

"I will, but I'll be fine," she said quietly. "I would rather be alone than have the chance of attacking someone else."

"I didn't think of it like that," Matt said. "We're staying at Grimmauld Place too."

"I know," Angelina replied. "It's a good idea, and it means that you'll be safe. We never know what Greyback might do."

The rest of the day went by smoothly. The class was as usual, and Angelina was glad for it. She wondered to herself what might have happened had they been noisier than usual. She didn't like to think that she might ever yell at them in anger, but she felt that in the state she was in, it was a distinct possibility. Occasionally she saw Matt looking at her, either looking sad or worried. She thought it was nice that he was so worried for her, but she wished that he didn't have to be.

When the time came, Angelina, Alicia and Katie all travelled by Floo to Grimmauld Place. Bill had connected their fireplace to Grimmauld Place's, but left it out of the Ministry's. Angelina wasn't sure how it worked, but it did. As it was, it was the only place they would want to go to anyway. Angelina had tried to convince Angelina and Katie to stay at home, but both of them insisted on staying at Grimmauld Place. There were certainly enough rooms, to be sure.

"Hermione told us what you talked about yesterday," Bill said, handing a plate to Angelina. She was having an early dinner since she had to go through the transformation. "About the Muggle-borns. It's a nice idea, but Draco's right. As much as we might want to do it, the Ministry is the riskiest place to go at this point."

"Angelina told us too," Katie said. "I actually think I agree with Malfoy as well. Wow, look at that! I said that without retching."

"He's not that bad," Fleur put in.

"I know," Katie replied with a smile. "I'm just having a bit of a hard time adjusting, that's all."

"He wasn't exactly friendly at Hogwarts," Alicia said.

"What matters is now," Angelina told her two friends. "As far as we can tell, Malfoy is working for the same cause as us. As far as I'm concerned, he could crack every joke about us he likes if he can work out how we can beat all of this."

"Fortunately he seems to be making few jokes and working against the Ministry," Bill said. "Win-win situation."

"What are you doing with the kids tonight?" Angelina asked. Fleur had Louis with her at the time, and the boy was playing with Fleur's naturally beautiful blonde hair.

"I will stay with them at Shell Cottage," Fleur replied. "Luna volunteered to stay with me to help. Bill will stay here in case something happens. Not that it will, of course."

"It's fine," Angelina said with a laugh. "Not wanting to have your kids around a werewolf seems like a reasonable thing to want. I don't mind, really."

"Thank you for understanding," Fleur said with a sigh. "My children are the most important things in my life. I know Bill feels the same way about them."

"I do," Bill replied, smiling at his wife and kissing the top of his son's head. "I see he likes your hair as much as I do."

Just before the sunset, Alicia and Katie hugged Angelina and wished her well. Angelina was also surprised to find that Matt hugged her as well, as his parents smiled. They knew what was coming, and Angelina assumed that they were proud that Matt cared about her.

Charlie had organised a room for Angelina that had a bed, but nothing else in it, mostly because it was said that the first transformation could be disorientating and he didn't want her to hurt herself on any furniture. Angelina was grateful, but wondered if it was entirely warranted. She figured that the bed would be helpful, though.

She entered into the nearly empty room. There was the king-sized bed against the far wall, and one solitary window near the roof. It was so high up that Angelina, as tall as she was, couldn't reach it. She figured that this was why they chose this particular room. She wouldn't be able to escape through a window at all. She sat down on the bed and waited, wringing her hands the whole time.

She had tried to convince herself since being bitten that she was not a werewolf. That, maybe, Ginny had gotten to her quick enough to stop the spread. Even in the last few days she had tried to pass off her change in character as something more simple, and not related to any wolfish qualities. Just to get to sleep at night she found herself telling herself that she wasn't a werewolf, and that it was all just going to blow over. That when the full moon came around, nothing would happen. She would simply go on and live her life.

But there, in that room in Grimmauld Place, Angelina began to doubt, and it occurred to her that it was highly likely that she was a werewolf and that everything else had been wishful thinking. She wanted to chide herself at her stupidity as she continued to look at her hands. She felt as though she had spent so long trying to fool herself into believing that nothing would happen, that when it happened it would be worse.

As the sunset started, Angelina undressed. She knew that clothes were not part of the transformation and would likely be ripped apart or rendered useless afterwards. She didn't want to take any chances, and left the clothes on the bed, which was the only place for them.

The room started to darken, and Angelina wanted to cry. She could feel, even at that moment, that something was beginning to happen. She could feel something changing. Not in her mind. Her mind was perfectly normal, though spending more time than usual worrying about her own well-being. It was something else. Something inside of her. Like something was awakening. Almost as if it was coming out from a deep sleep. It frightened her.

The moonlight came, and Angelina cried out in pain.

Her body was violently changing itself. Everything within her felt as though it was breaking and reforming itself. She could feel something coming out of her skin and her arms and legs changing. Bones were forming together in ways that were foreign to her anatomy, and she thought she could even hear the scraping of it happening. It was so painful, and yet she found that she could only stay still as she turned, screaming all the while. But soon she found her screams muffled as her face changed.

This happened for less than a minute, though Angelina believed that it was far longer.

After it happened, Angelina felt different. She could feel the pain, even in the form she found herself in, but she somehow didn't mind it. The pain seemed dull and distant, as though it had happened to someone else entirely. Angelina looked down and found her face close to the floorboards. She got too close and hurt her nose.

Instinctively, she knew how to walk. Perhaps it was just part of the transformation. She padded around the room, sniffing. She could smell things much better than she could when she was a human. She smelt someone outside the door. She couldn't tell who it was, but they were there, guarding the door in case she got out.

The smell made her mind race. It was as if something was acting against a great impulse, like an alcoholic that had given up drinking. She felt a distant desire to chase that smell and rip it to pieces, but something else was stopping her.

Her ears pricked up as she heard a baby crying. Angelina knew who it was, but the wolf didn't. The wolf was almost a different entity that Angelina happened to have limited control over, and she was hearing the cry loudly. Again there was an impulse that was not her own that was almost immediately shut down by something else. Something better.

Angelina looked out of the small window she could see. She could only just see the sky outside. She couldn't see the moon, but the wolfish instinct was too great. She let out a howl, looking out to the darkened sky outside. She wondered if they had put a silencing charm around the room.

Realising that there was nothing else for her to do, Angelina looked to the bed. She leapt up to it, but misjudged the jump the first time, hitting the edge and falling to the wooden floor. She got to her feet and jumped again, reaching the bed. On the bed she found where she had left her clothes and sniffed. She felt somehow connected to the clothes and curled up on top of her own jacket, comforted by the familiar scent, and soon fell to sleep.

In the morning, Angelina awoke to find the room lightened and herself back to her own form once again. She sat up, and found that she was in a great deal of pain. She managed to stand and dress in her clothes from the previous night, though that took some effort. She walked to the door gingerly and knocked once. Immediately the door came open and she saw Charlie standing in front of her.

"How do I look?" she asked, her voice somewhat hoarse.

"Like you've had a long night of drinking," Charlie joked. "You just look tired is all."

"I wish that was all," Angelina said grumpily. "The pain is incredible."

"Ginny told me that would be the case," Charlie said, handing her a flask. "Drink that. It'll last about ten hours."

Angelina looked at the potion and without even considering it, downed it in one gulp. It didn't taste as horrible as the Wolfsbane Potion did, which was a blessing. Within a minute, Angelina found that the pain had mostly disappeared, though her left leg still had some pain where she had been bitten.

"Wendy and Robert's house?" she asked simply.

"It doesn't seem to have been targeted," Charlie replied, and Angelina sighed in relief.

"Don't ever get bitten," she told Charlie seriously, rubbing her left leg before descending the stairs in Grimmauld Place with him at her side. "It's horrendous."

"Will you go to work?" Charlie asked after a moment. Angelina considered it.

"I can use makeup to make myself look better, and so long as the potion holds, I'll be fine," Angelina decided as she took the final step.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I can't remember ever reading a story where there was a female werewolf. It's an odd thing, but I can't remember it. Then again, I'm picky about what fanfictions I read, so maybe it's just not part of the type of stories I prefer. Anyway, I thought it was important to show Angelina's first transformation, especially since I can have the unique perspective that couldn't be shown in the original books of a transformation.

I want to admit that there may be some facts that I'm missing about werewolves, but I had the Wiki open, so I think I got most of it. Some I made up, but that's because of the lack of information. If you think something is off, let me know so I can fix it.

A huge thanks to _musicalgryffindor_, _H_, _MissMalfoy77_ and _MissDemigodWizard_ for reviewing. As always, it means a lot.

I think there will be another chapter, and then the chapter after that will be an important one. So be on the lookout. Some good ideas are going to come into play.

As always, thanks for reading. I'll see you in the next chapter.

**_~Colin, The Master of Whisperers_**


	13. Remembrance

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 13**_

_**Remembrance**_

"_Our memory is a more perfect world than the universe: it gives back life to those who no longer exist."  
_- Guy de Maupassant

_**Justin Finch-Fletchley**_

_**12**__**th**__** December, 2003**_

"I was thinking," Susan said, and Justin turned the television down. "It would be good for you to learn Occlumency."

"Zach keeps saying that," Justin admitted. "We just never got around to it because I never saw much reason. It isn't like I would need to use it all that much."

"It isn't just useful to defend against a Legilimens," Susan said. "There are other uses. It helps to free your mind up, helps you get to sleep easier and can even be used to organise your mind a bit better. I have this thing going on where my memories are in different, I guess rooms. It's hard to describe. Since I've had so much time to work on it, I've trained myself to be able to keep some rooms better protected than others."

"So if someone tried Legilimency on you, they would be able to see things easily, but only what you want them to see?" Justin asked. Susan grinned.

"Exactly," she replied. "So, my knowledge of you and Zach are stored in the most high priority room in my mind. Very few people can get into it, so you're pretty safe if anything happens to me. But information about my work with Xeno and Augusta aren't so well hidden since the Ministry already knows that I was involved there."

"Is it hard to learn?" Justin asked. Susan seemed to weigh it up.

"What I'm talking about, yeah," she admitted. "But if you learn general Occlumency, you should be able to fend off most attacks on your mind. Not that there will be many. Once you get used to that, then you can use the compartments method like I do."

"How did you learn?" Justin asked, genuinely interested.

"Aunt Amelia taught me," Susan said. "She also taught me a little Legilimency, but not much. Not many people knew that she was a Legilimens. She told me once that it's not an ability that people want others to know about. It makes them nervous, which is why she never told anyone else."

"How much Legilimency do you know?" Justin asked.

"Enough," Susan said simply. "I can get into peoples' minds and I can search for things generally. It's more difficult to search for specific things, though. I can also tell if someone's lying or not, at least in most cases."

"I didn't know that was part of it," Justin admitted. He liked talking to Susan about things like this because Susan actually had knowledge of the wizarding world above what someone usually does. Amelia Bones had been, Justin knew from having met her a few times, and incredibly intelligent and strong witch. She passed a lot of knowledge down to Susan, as she had to raise her after Susan's parents died fighting Voldemort in the first War. "I thought it was just memory stuff."

"It's not a well-known aspect because it's possibly even more worrying for people," Susan replied. "Looking into memories is bad enough, but there are times when people lie, and they would rather not be found out. It makes people nervous even if they don't plan to lie. So most Legilimens keep that bit secret, and even fewer actively use that ability as proof. Aunt Amelia said that often lying tells people more than the truth does, and yet it wouldn't hold up in any form of justice. She told me that when she sees someone lying, instead of outright saying that they're lying, she would try and lead them to confess to the lie. It was easier that way."

"That makes sense," Justin said. "So do you think I could learn Occlumency?"

"If I can, you surely can," Susan said with a laugh. "I know you're modest and all, but you were always better at everything than I was. I just know more. Plus, if _Zach_ can do it, you definitely can."

"Hey!" Justin said, laughing. "That's my boyfriend you're poking fun at."

"I know, pity he isn't here," Susan said in mock sadness. Her tone changed then. "When did you see him last?"

"I've only seen him three times since the wedding," Justin said, slightly sadly. "The first time you know about because that was when I told him about you and the cloak. I know it's important that he spend time with her, especially this early on. I just miss him."

"That sucks," Susan said.

"At least I have you now," Justin said, trying to cheer things up. "Plus this Occlumency stuff will keep me occupied."

"It'll get better," Susan said, ignoring the change in conversation. She used to do this a lot at Hogwarts, Justin remembered. "You and I both know that marriage won't last."

Justin felt an urge to tell her about Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini, but kept his mouth shut. He knew that Susan would never tell anyone, but he knew that the more people that know about Daphne's plans, the more chances there are that it would fail. He had to keep it to himself until after the fact.

"Probably not," Justin agreed. "She'll probably be caught cheating sooner or later. But then he'll just have to get married again."

"Maybe by then something will have happened and it'll all be over," Susan suggested.

"We can hope," Justin replied. "It doesn't seem likely. Zach tells me that You-Know-Who has not slowed down. He also told me that some people at the Ministry talk behind You-Know-Who's back about how he looks more ragged than he had before. He hasn't slowed down, he just looks different somehow."

"I've seen him," Susan admitted. "Just before I got away."

"What does he look like?" Justin asked. Susan raised an eyebrow. "Zach's never actually seen him before. He works in the Ministry, but he says that only the 'Inner Circle' sees him outside of the major executions, and Zach has never been to one of those before. Plus, he fled Hogwarts before You-Know-Who came into play, so he didn't see him then."

"Okay," Susan said before taking a breath. "He looks like a monster. Not some fifteen foot tall black behemoth from Hell, but just a monster. He has no hair, so he's entirely bald, except that his skin is so thin and pale that you can see the veins in his skull. His eyes are like slits, and they're almost a blood red. He has no nose, only two holes for nostrils. His mouth is so pale it might as well be blue. The only thing about his head that seems normal are his ears. They somehow have maintained an actual human look about them. He's actually tall. Not Hagrid tall, but taller than you or I. But he's thin. Very thin. Almost anorexic in a way. When I saw him he was wearing a deep green robe which covered every part of his body except for his head and his hands. His hands are like two spiders, but his yellow fingernails are long and unkempt.

"I saw all of that in the few seconds I saw him before I used the Portkey," Susan explained finally. Justin was silent for a moment.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again," Justin said, a little mirth in his voice. "You have a way with words. He doesn't sound … human."

"He isn't," Susan assured him. "He hasn't been human for years now."

"Do you think he was at some time?" Justin asked curiously.

"I think so," Susan said. "I think there was a time in his life where he had some kind of humanity. But I think that was a long time ago now."

The two of them fell silent.

"Would you like to get started with Occlumency?" Susan asked finally. Justin nodded.

"What do I do?" he asked.

"First of all, I'm just going to teach you some exercises to do," Susan explained. "I want you to do them every night before you go to sleep. Practice whenever you can, and you'll get better.

"Wait," she said suddenly. "You need to know something about this."

"What?" Justin asked.

"We are going to get to a point in this where I will have to use Legilimency on you to test your defences," Susan explained warily. "And I'm sure you won't be able to resist me the first time, even though I am less experienced. Because I can't search for specific memories, I'll have to be vague. That means that I might find some … sensitive memories." Justin's face went slightly red.

"I don't care," he said finally. "I've been friends with you since First Year. I trust you completely. If you see anything like that, I think we're close enough that it won't matter. It isn't like you don't know it's in there."

"Hopefully it doesn't happen," Susan said finally.

"Did your Aunt see anything from you?" Justin asked, smirking. Susan shook her head.

"I was thirteen when I started to learn Occlumency," she explained. "There wasn't all that much to see that I would be embarrassed about."

"Way to ruin it," Justin said, laughing. "Now I don't get to tease you. That's no fun at all."

For the remainder of the afternoon, Susan taught Justin several exercises to clear his mind and to also create a kind of shield against invaders. When Justin promised her that he would work on it, she decided to leave. Susan had been to Justin's home almost every day since Justin found out that she was still alive. She had been alone for so long, that it didn't surprise Justin at all that she would want company. It helped that he wanted some as well with Zach spending so much time away from him.

Zach had not spent very much time with Justin since the wedding. The few times they had been together, it hadn't been for very long because he could only get away for a short period of time. Mostly when Pansy was visiting her parents, which Justin gathered was fairly often. She mostly did that when Zach was at work, however, so Zach rarely went with her.

Justin figured that she wasn't actually visiting her parents at all. She was meeting with Blaise. He was pretty sure about that. It didn't seem that she would stop meeting him, even though she's married. He wanted to start to hint to Zach that it may be a possibility, but he wasn't sure if it was too early in the marriage for Zach to start throwing around accusations. He got the feeling that it was an intricate plan that Daphne had crafted, and Justin felt left out of most of it. Justin had never been cunning. He was a Hufflepuff, not a Slytherin. Leave that to Daphne.

He spent the night hoping that Zach would show up at some point, though he never did. Time just went by and Justin kept reading his book. At around two o'clock in the morning, he decided to just go to sleep. He spent fifteen minutes doing his Occlumency exercises as Susan had taught him and fell to sleep quicker than he could remember having done so before.

He awoke and saw that it was just after ten in the morning. He usually slept longer, but found himself much more refreshed than usual, and he attributed that to the Occlumency exercises. He made a mental not to thank Susan when he could.

When he walked into the kitchen, he realised that he could smell bacon cooking. His heart started racing and he moved more quickly to the kitchen. It was not Zach that he found, but Daphne.

"I wondered when you would get up," Daphne commented. "Is that how long Muggles sleep?"

"How did you –" Justin began to ask, but cut himself off. "Magic. Right. And, no, Muggles don't really sleep differently to people with magical abilities. I just don't have much to be awake for, really."

"I see," Daphne replied, turning over an egg. "I'm sure you don't mind. I was going to make you breakfast in bed, though I hadn't decided if I would wake you up or just drop an egg on your face. It's terribly impolite to sleep while you have a visitor."

"It's also impolite to barge into someone else's home and just start cooking," Justin shot back, which made Daphne laugh.

"Indeed," she replied. "Apologies for that. I just felt the need to see you again. It's been a while, and there are things we both need to know."

"Do you mind if I actually freshen up first?" Justin asked, slightly embarrassed. "I'm not used to people being in my house when I wake up. Even Zach has the courtesy to knock."

"I did knock," Daphne protested innocently. "When you didn't answer, well I had to come inside and make sure you were okay. When I found you sleeping, I couldn't very well leave, could I? That would be just a bit too odd. Entering someone's house and leaving before they even know you were there. For all you know, I could have stolen something."

"Right, well I do need to actually have a shower," Justin replied. He found that he actually quite liked Daphne, despite the circumstances.

"Breakfast will be done when you are I suspect," Daphne said as Justin left the kitchen. As he walked down the hallway he heard her say, "Muggles are fascinating." Justin wondered if she knew just what she was doing. He assumed that she did.

When he was done, Daphne was true to her word, and there was a plate of eggs and bacon on the kitchen table waiting for him.

"Thank you," Justin said as he sat down opposite Daphne. She just smiled.

"It's the least I could do, all jokes aside," she replied, eating some that she had prepared for herself. "I don't often use Muggle technology for cooking. It isn't all that different from magical stuff, really."

"Why are you so fascinated with Muggle things?" Justin asked her, thinking back to her telling him about the television she had made Blaise buy her. "You're a pure-blood, aren't you?"

"I am," Daphne said. "My family has remained pure-blood for centuries. Admittedly, there have been times when our family has been less than kind to Muggles, but the family has softened for the most part. My parents aren't exactly going to start living like Muggles, and frankly nor am I, but we are somewhat more appreciative of them. It's why my family never sided with the Death Eaters, even the first time."

"Why didn't you fight with Dumbledore?" Justin asked.

"My parents never saw it like that," Daphne said. "They didn't want You-Know-Who to win, but they knew that people in wars die. To them it wasn't so much that there were two sides. They picked the third side, and they lived through it. Look at the Prewett family. Or the Bones family. They fought on Dumbledore's side, and the families died out. We didn't want that."

"I guess I get that," Justin said, though he wondered how the first war might have gone had the fence-sitters chosen a side.

"I didn't come here to talk about this though," Daphne said. "I wanted to know how things are with Zacharias."

"I haven't seen him much," Justin admitted. "Things seem to be going okay. He has a potion so he can fulfil his duties as husband."

"Good thinking," Daphne said. "I assume it was you who thought of it. I meant to tell you that when we met last, but we were interrupted. Things might have gone badly had you not thought of that."

"He doesn't like it," Justin said. Daphne laughed, and Justin shot her a look.

"Sorry," she said, her smile slowly disappearing. "I don't blame him. I wouldn't enjoy doing that with a woman. I guess I was just thinking about the idea of myself with a woman. But don't worry, he won't get her pregnant."

"How do you know that?" Justin asked in some surprise.

"She's cheating on her husband with a man who's cheating on his wife," Daphne explained. "Do you think she wants to end up taking chances? It's pretty easy to find out whose baby she eventually has. Pansy isn't stupid, unfortunately."

"Actually, I was wondering about this," Justin put in. "Do you want me to start hinting at it right away, or after some time?"

"I would say the longer the better," Daphne replied. "It hasn't even been a month yet. It isn't unheard of for people in marriage contracts to make stuff like that up to get out of a marriage they don't want to be a part of. The longer they're married, the better."

"What if Zach finds out for himself?" Justin asked. Daphne shrugged.

"If he finds out, he'll probably tell you first, right?" she asked.

"Probably, yeah," Justin said.

"That's what I thought," Daphne said, brushing a lock of hair from her eye. "Well, you'll have to stall him. Tell him what I've just said. Basically make him wait to reveal it. He'll listen to you won't he?"

"Yes, he will," Justin replied.

"Good. Then I won't have to be involved," Daphne said, picking up a piece of bacon and throwing it into her mouth. "Is there a reason why he might find out?"

"Pansy keeps saying that she's visiting her parents," Justin explained. Daphne nodded.

"That's the excuse Blaise uses," she replied. "'I'm just going to see my mother for a while, Daph. No, she doesn't like you, remember. It's best if you stay here.' He thinks he's being subtle. I've met his mother, and she doesn't seem to have an opinion on me one way or another.

"Yeah, he might find out," Daphne continued. "If he does, I have all the trust in the world that you will make sure that he does what's necessary."

"And how long until I should start dropping hints?" Justin asked. "A few months?"

"I would give it at least three," Daphne replied after a moment. "Somewhere around March or April next year. It gives people enough time to see them as a couple and assume that things are going well. By that time it won't be odd for him to have discovered it, and I doubt anyone will look too deeply."

"Right," Justin said, though he was feeling quite upset. He didn't want to be doing this for another three months. He didn't like that Zach was married to her and he didn't like having to hide things from him. He did understand what Daphne was saying, it just wasn't making him overly happy.

"After that, everything will go smoothly," Daphne said, almost tenderly. "Trust me, I don't like this more than you do."

"No, I suppose you don't," Justin agreed. "It's easy to forget that you've got a cheating husband to deal with."

"But that's just it," Daphne said with a smile. "I'll deal with it."

Daphne didn't stay much longer after that. Justin finished his breakfast and was cleaning when Susan showed up.

"Was Zach here?" she asked, seeing that Justin was cleaning two plates.

"Uh, no," Justin said. "One of my neighbours came over and I offered them breakfast. They haven't long left."

"I thought you didn't like to talk to them much," Susan said.

"That isn't exactly what I meant," Justin replied with fake indignance. "It's just that we don't often talk, that's all."

"Oh, okay," Susan said. "Sorry I'm here early. I just wanted to continue the Occlumency from yesterday."

"I did those exercises last night," Justin said. "Thank you so much. I haven't slept that well in a long time."

"No problem," Susan replied with a light laugh.

Zach didn't show up for the remainder of the weekend, or through the following week. If Susan hadn't been visiting him every day, Justin would have become a nervous wreck. It helped that Occlumency lessened that happening as well.

Susan had informed Justin that she wouldn't use Legilimency on him for at least a week after he first started the exercises. When it came to Friday afternoon, she decided that it was time to test it out on him.

"Remember, I'm probably going to get through," Susan said.

"I know," Justin said firmly. "You've said it all week. I need to get used to it before I can defend against it."

"I'm just worried that I might see something," Susan replied timidly.

"I've known you for most of my life, Susan," Justin said. "Other than Zach, you're the person I've been closest to in the world. I don't care what you might see. I trust you."

"If you say so," Susan said. She sounded a lot better. Justin knew that she would. She pointed her wand at Justin's head and Justin cleared his mind. "_Legilimens_."

Justin could feel her probing into his mind, and tried to resist. When he found that he couldn't, images started to flood his mind.

He was seven and he had just fallen off his bike. His father was there helping him up, but Justin looked down at the gash on his knee. He started to panic and, all of a sudden, the wound healed itself.

"Let me look at it," his father said kindly. When he looked at Justin's knee and found nothing there, he smiled. "See? You're fine."

The image changed to when he was eleven and Professor McGonagall was sitting in the sitting room of his childhood home. He was feeling amazed and in awe of the older witch in front of him who demonstrated magical ability by floating her tea cup into the air, not spilling any of the contents.

It changed again, and it came to Diagon Alley. His first trip there, Justin could tell. His parents were with him, and his mother was keeping a tight hold on his hand, at least at the beginning. Everything around them had been so foreign that his parents were understandably wary of it all. That was until Justin managed to convince his parents to let him look at the wand shop. He managed to wriggle free of his mother and ran towards it.

Unfortunately, he ran right into an eleven year old girl with long red hair who was with an older, stern woman wearing a monocle.

"I'm sorry," Justin said to the girl. Susan smiled at him.

"You're Muggle-born aren't you?" she asked knowingly.

"Susan," Amelia said sternly. "That's not something you should ask right away."

"I am," Justin confirmed to both Susan and her Aunt. By that point, his parents had found their way to the shop.

Suddenly he was back in his living room. Susan lowered her wand.

"I had forgotten all about that," Susan admitted. "I forgot that we met at Diagon Alley."

"I know you did," Justin said with a weak smile. He found that it was somewhat draining trying to fight off Legilimency. "You introduced yourself that first night at Hogwarts, remember?"

"Well, anyway, you did alright at the beginning," Susan explained. "You resisted me for a little while, so there is some improvement there."

"That was pretty tiring," Justin admitted. "I didn't think it would be so difficult."

"It's because Occlumecy still technically uses magic," Susan explained. "Not when you're practicing or doing one of the exercises, but when you are actually fighting off Legilimency. It's why Muggles could organised their mind, but not fight off a Legilimens. If they can compartmentalise their memories, which is possible without magic, they can still hide things to a point. Or, at least, someone wouldn't see them right away. They would have to look harder."

"So the actual stopping Legilimency uses a certain amount of magic, but not the organising of the mind?" Justin asked and Susan confirmed with a nod. "That explains why I'm a bit drained then."

"I think I would like to keep going," Susan said. "I wasn't going to stop there, except that I saw that memory. I just want to tell you that you can continue to try and fight against me during the memories. I know you experience them as I do, since I'm doing it that way, but you need to not be distracted. Just keep trying."

"I will," Justin said firmly.

"_Legilimens_," Susan said again.

Justin was sitting on a stool at the front of the Great Hall with the Sorting Hat on his head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" it cried, and the Hall broke out into applause, most of it coming from the Hufflepuff table. Justin felt a rush of pride as he walked to the table and sat next to Susan. There had been a small part of that eleven year old who had thought he would not be Sorted, and it was nice to see that he was wrong.

The scene changed and he was in the Hospital Wing near the end of his second year. He was just coming out of being petrified. He was looking up at the ceiling. He didn't remember all that much about what had happened while he was petrified, but he knew that it had been a long time. Dumbledore had been there when it happened, and he told Justin what had happened.

"I am sure that Harry would have wanted to be here himself," the Headmaster said with a friendly smile. "Alas, Madam Pomfrey is strict on such things. I assure you, however, that Harry did not do this to you."

"I feel terrible," Justin said to the headmaster, and Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling.

"I think you will find that Harry is very forgiving," he said kindly. "If you speak to him, I'm sure everything will be fine."

The scene changed once again. This time it was during a meeting of Dumbledore's Army in the Room of Requirement. Harry was assisting Justin with a spell that Justin was having trouble with.

"Here, I'll help," Harry said kindly, and took Justin's wand hand in his own. Justin got nervous as he did so, and almost dropped his wand. Harry laughed and Justin went red. "Keep a hold of that. That's rule number one."

"I'm sorry," Justin said, more timid than he usually was. Harry smiled and his emerald green eyes shone like Dumbledore's had.

"It's alright," Harry said. "I took you by surprise. I do need to use your hand to show you the movement though."

"I'll make sure to hold on this time," Justin said, joking and cursing his face.

The scene changed again and Justin was sitting in the Hufflepuff Common Room with Zach, Susan and Ernie. They were in Sixth Year. Towards the end of that year, as well. It was nothing special, but they were all together. They sat around and joked with each other about what was going on at the school. It was the last time the four of them were together.

Susan stopped the spell. She obviously realised what was so important about the last memory. She looked like she wanted to cry, but didn't. Justin was affected too.

"What happened to Ernie?" Susan asked. It was the first time she had brought up Ernie since finding Justin.

"He was in the Great Hall," Justin said. "Zach told me when he first found me."

"That doesn't surprise me in the slightest," Susan replied. "Ernie was many things, but loyal above all else."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes after that. It hurt for Justin to remember Ernie. He was very close to all of his Hufflepuff classmates, but he had always been closest to Zach, Susan, Hannah and Ernie. Hannah and Ernie were gone, and it hurt to think that he would never see them again.

"You fancied Harry then?" Susan asked finally with a massive smile. Justin laughed.

"Shut up," he said defensively. "I know for a fact that you did at one point. You thought you were being subtle?"

"I did think so, yes," Susan said with a smile as a blush tinged her cheeks. "I was twelve okay?"

"Alright, alright," Justin said. "I won't tease you if you won't tease me."

"I can live with that. I think we should at least try once more this afternoon," Susan said and Justin nodded. "Before I was looking for good memories from your childhood and through Hogwarts. I think I'll look more at recent events because it is easier to protect memories that are closer to where you are in life."

"You may want to broaden your search from good memories, because Zach has been the main source of happiness for me over the last few years. You might come across something you don't want to see," Justin said with a slight smirk. Susan blushed but nodded.

"I might, yes," she admitted. "Treat this as a possibility to try the compartment idea. Try and keep those memories somewhere else in your mind, and it might make it harder for me to find them."

"How do I do that?" Justin asked.

"For now, just imagine anything to do with that stuff locked behind a sort of door," Susan explained. "Visualise it if you can."

After a minute, Justin thought he had done the best that he could. Susan nodded at him.

"_Legilimens_," she said quietly.

Justin could feel her in his mind once again, probing away. He concentrated on trying to resist her, and thought that he did it for longer than he had before when she made her way in finally.

Justin was standing outside of his new house as he waved to his parents. He had convinced them that they needed to leave the country for their own safety because Voldemort was more powerful than ever, and they did so reluctantly. They had wanted him to go with them, but he wouldn't.

He felt tears coming to his eyes as they drove away, and then he felt a hand in his.

"It's the right decision," Zach said to him quietly. "They were at risk for over two years. It's safer for them to leave."

The scene changed and Justin was with Zach in the living room.

"I saw Dennis Creevey today," Zach said.

"Really?" Justin asked, surprised. "What happened?"

"It was close," Zach said seriously. "He came up to me when I was with my parents and started talking. I took him aside and warned him about them and told my parents that he had gotten me confused with someone else."

"Do you think we should try to help him?" Justin asked. Zach weighed it in his mind.

"He's lasted this long," he replied finally. "But I might be able to help. In fact, I should have done it for you a long time ago. I'll get the Ministry to think you're both dead. It's all I can do."

The scene attempted to change, but something was stopping it. Justin didn't think that he was doing anything, but he could feel Susan's progress being halted somehow. Suddenly Susan dropped the spell.

"Were you doing that?" she asked.

"No, I don't think so," Justin said. "It seemed like there was something else."

"Are you absolutely sure you weren't stopping me yourself?" Susan asked.

"Well, no," Justin admitted. "But it felt different in my mind. It wasn't like I was exerting as much effort as there would have been."

"Okay," Susan replied, a worried look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Justin asked, his heart starting to beat faster. "Something's wrong, I can tell. What is it?"

"Well, if it wasn't you doing that, there's really only one thing it could be," Susan explained. "It has to be a memory charm."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

I'll admit right away that this is something of a filler chapter. I still think it's important to have a chapter like this, though. Everything does. It's important in my mind because I have four characters that I have to develop with very little to work from in the original series, so I need some characterisation time with them. It's easy to do it for Justin since it's all from his point of view, but I do need to work on Susan and Daphne in particular. Rest assured, however, that these storylines are leading to something.

This way of doing Occlumency is one that I took somewhat from Semprini's "The Veil of Mystery" mainly because I feel that it's nicer than how Snape did it, and still kind of makes sense. I added the bit about magic, though.

Once again, I would like to thank _MissDemigodWizard_, _musicalgryffindor_, _Gwenlynn_, _Diddleymaz_ and _MissMalfoy77_ for reviewing my story. I appreciate to continued support of everyone who reads and reviews.

The next chapter is a big one.

Thanks so much for reading. I'll see you all in the next chapter.

**_~Colin, The Master of Whisperers_**


	14. Christmas at Beauxbatons

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Christmas at Beauxbatons**_

_"And I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know."  
_- Mitch Albom ("For One More Day")

_**Fleur Weasley**_

_**25**__**th**__** December, 2003**_

It was Victoire's third Christmas, though it was probably the first one where she actually understood what was happening, which was why Fleur had gone to so much trouble to make it as fantastic as possible for her. She and Bill had bought her a lot of presents and sat them under the fake Muggle Christmas tree in the corner of the living room of Grimmauld Place. They had decorations up at Shell Cottage, but they were well aware that they would spend the morning at Grimmauld Place, so they left the gifts there.

Victoire was extremely pleased with all of her presents and was playing with a few of her new toys with Charlie and Ginny while Fleur sat talking with Bill, Luna and Hermione.

"When are you going to France?" Luna asked.

"In a few hours," Fleur replied. "We want to have lunch at home with my parents and then I was thinking of visiting Madame Maxime at Beauxbatons."

"Is that a good idea?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Madame Maxime will be very discreet," Fleur explained. "There is a direct Floo connection between my parents' house and her office. She and I became close during the Triwizard Tournament, so she liked me to keep in touch. Especially after Cedric was killed. I think she was worried about my emotional state after that."

"Don't worry," Bill told Hermione. "We won't let many people see us there. Madame Maxime already knows that we're alive, so that isn't a problem."

"Okay, just be careful," Hermione said. Fleur could see Luna looking off into the distance slightly, but didn't comment on it. Luna often did this, and Fleur was used to it.

"Just make sure to wish everyone else a happy Christmas for us," Fleur said. "We'll be staying with my parents for the night, so we won't see them at all today."

"When are Malfoy and Astoria getting here anyway?" Hermione asked. Fleur looked at her slightly disapprovingly.

"I know he wasn't good to you in school, but can't you just call him Draco?" Fleur asked. She hadn't meant it to, but it came out rather annoyed. "I think he's earned it."

"When he stops calling me Granger, I'll call him Draco," Hermione said. "Until that time, he will be Malfoy to me." Fleur sighed.

"I guess I can't ask for a lot more than that," she said.

Luna was about to speak, but Fleur heard Louis crying. She sighed and got to her feet.

"I love him, but I will be glad when this crying stuff is over," she said. "I haven't slept well since he was born."

"It doesn't show," Luna said. Fleur smiled at her.

"That's kind of you to say, but it's only the Veela in me," Fleur said. "I would look absolutely horrendous if I wasn't part Veela."

"No you wouldn't," Bill said, kissing Fleur on the cheek. Louis was wailing now and Victoire was calling to Fleur to let her know that he was crying as well. Louis was in one of the downstairs rooms to make it easier to get to him, and Fleur soon made her way into his room.

"Listen to you," she said with a wide grin. It was strange how even the mere presence of one of his parents tended to get Louis to stop crying. "Did you have a good little nap?"

Fleur picked Louis up and hugged him close to her before changing him and carrying him into the lounge room. She sat down on the couch closest to Victoire and started to play with Louis. She liked the look on his face when she made funny faces at him, so she tended to do that a lot. It tended to amuse Victoire as well, which was a helpful side-effect.

After a while, Fleur gave Louis to Charlie, who tried to make Louis play with one of the toys that he had bought him. Louis wasn't very interested. Fleur walked back into the kitchen intending to get a drink.

"There was another Muggle-born execution yesterday," Bill was saying as she walked in. "The first eleven year old in a month."

"I hate this so much," Hermione said angrily. "I wish we could just do something about it."

"I do too," Bill assured her. "But Draco was right. There's too much risk involved. Perhaps we might get a better chance soon."

"In the meantime more innocent Muggle-born kids will die," Hermione said fervently. "If we don't act, they'll die."

"If we do act, we could die," Bill said. "What use would we be then?"

"He's on the path to wiping out a whole generation of Muggle-borns!" Hermione shouted. "He's killed ten years' worth since he took over, and there are undoubtedly more to come."

"What are you going to do?" Bill asked, anger finally seeping into his voice. "Sneak into the Ministry alone? And what happens if you get killed, Hermione? What then?"

"At least I'll have died knowing I was doing the right thing," Hermione shot back. "That's what Harry would do."

"Yes, he would," Bill said angrily. "And whenever he did things like that, nothing good happened. He wasn't perfect Hermione." Bill took a breath to calm himself as Hermione looked slightly hurt. "If you tried and failed, do you think any of us would be able to live with ourselves? We're closer than family here."

"We love you, Hermione," Fleur put in. Hermione looked at her. "We have lost so many people over the years, what do you think would happen to us if we lost someone else? I know that's a selfish thought when there are innocent people being murdered, but it's the truth."

"If we can come up with a way to get those lists that doesn't put us at risk, we'll do it," Bill said. "We don't want this to keep happening any more than you do. We just have to be realistic." Hermione looked on the verge of tears.

"I know," she said simply. Fleur sat on a chair next to her and hugged her. "I just don't want more people to die meaninglessly."

"We don't either," Fleur said. "But sometimes it happens. May we never be able to cope with it."

Luna, Fleur noticed, was watching on interestedly, though had not said anything. Fleur thought that was odd, even for Luna. Even so, she didn't take it up with her. Luna was not one for confrontation, so Fleur guessed that it must have been for that reason that she didn't speak.

Not long before Fleur and Bill were due to leave for France, Charlie came up to Fleur, Hermione at his side.

"Happy Christmas," he said simply, holding out the box. Even though they were all sharing the same bank account, they had decided to get each other gifts anyway. Charlie was the only person who hadn't given one to Fleur. She opened the box. In it was a rather pretty, yet simple, necklace. "It's charmed so that you can use it to talk to people. For now it's only for use with Bill. I gave him a new earring, and he can use that to talk to you if he needs to."

"This is wonderful!" Fleur exclaimed. She had heard about things like this, but had never really thought about getting one for herself. She put it around her neck and hugged Charlie tightly.

"When you get back, I'll make some additions," Hermione said. "That way we'll all be able to talk to each other when we need to."

"Hermione did all the spell work," Charlie admitted. "It was my idea though. Also, if you're talking to anyone, only you can hear them, though you can hear the people around the other person."

"That was a hard one to do," Hermione said. "I got it done though. The only way anyone could hear it is if they had it themselves. I doubt that will happen, though."

"Thank you both," Fleur said happily.

"I hope this works," she heard Bill say and she grinned.

"How do I start it?" she asked.

"Just touch the necklace once," Charlie explained. "That way the communications channel is open for you to talk. To stop it, touch it again." Fleur nodded and touched the necklace.

"Bill?" she asked with a wide smile. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I am," he said. "I was beginning to think these wouldn't work."

"Charlie had to tell me how to work it," Fleur said. Bill laughed.

"We're turning into old people," he said. "I had to ask him that as well. And I was a Curse Breaker!"

"It's not so bad to grow old," Fleur said, smiling fondly. "Especially not with you."

Charlie snickered and Hermione hit him lightly on the arm.

"Tell my brother to shut it," Bill said, humour in his tone. "I love you."

"I love you too," Fleur said before turning to Charlie. "He says to shut it." Bill laughed again as Charlie looked amused.

"We need to go if we want to make it to Beauxbatons," Bill said. Fleur touched the necklace and went into the neighbouring room. They took the Floo from Grimmauld Place to Fleur's parents' home and were met by the family there. Fleur was slightly grateful that her family consisted only of her parents and Gabrielle. She enjoyed the more quiet family gatherings when she was in France, though part of her wished she could have the large gatherings that the Weasley family could have had.

"_Papi_!" Victoire squealed happily and Fleur's father picked her up easily as Fleur kissed her mother before having Louis taken from her promptly. Bill had learned French over the last five years, but Victoire was only speaking English, so only some of the discussion was in French, mostly things that might have been sensitive for Victoire to hear.

"It was good of you to come," Fleur's mother said happily as she tickled Louis. Fleur's mother had very little French accent left. It was something that Fleur had recognised whenever she heard her mother speak in English. Her father had more of an accent. "The others could have come as well."

"They had other engagements," Fleur said. She had decided not to tell even her parents about their knowledge that Angelina, Alicia and Katie were alive. It was also somewhat more imperative not to mention Draco or Astoria at all. "They send their love, though."

"I see Victoire got 'er fair share of the geefts," Fleur's father said jovially looking at the bag that Bill was holding.

"You know how it is Alphonse," he said with a grin. "Little girls will get what they want from their father."

"That ees very true," Fleur's father said, laughing.

"I wanted you to meet my boyfriend," Gabrielle said. "I know 'e can't come, but I wished that 'e could meet you two."

"You have a boyfriend?" Fleur asked, her eyebrows raised. It somehow didn't seem that Gabrielle was even old enough. Fleur still saw her as a child, even though she was seventeen. "I guess congratulations are in order. One day I hope to meet him. How long have you been seeing each other?"

"A few weeks now," Gabrielle said with a widening smile. Fleur spent a great deal of time talking about her budding romance, all the while their father was looking uncomfortable. Fleur suspected that it was something about Gabrielle being his baby, but he also seemed to not be too upset by the relationship. Fleur did wonder if it was something to do with her getting married at such a young age.

"Are you going to see Olympe?" Fleur's mother asked later.

"Yes, we thought she would be pleased to see us," Fleur replied. "We do not see her as much as we probably should."

"She has always been good to you," her mother replied with a nod.

"Can I come?" Gabrielle said suddenly. "I came home for the holiday, but Isaac stayed there. It would be nice to see him. And Madame Maxime, of course."

"I don't see why not," Bill said, responding to Fleur's look. "We can stay and chat to Madame Maxime and you can go and find this Isaac."

"Look 'im over for me if you can," Fleur's father put in, mostly in jest. Fleur shot him a glance and he raised his hands slightly.

"Papa," Gabrielle whined, before looking at Bill.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's nice," Bill said with a smile. "I can't meet him, though. Risks, you understand?"

"Pity," Fleur's father responded, grinning at Gabrielle who was now blushing quite red.

"Will you take the children?" Fleur's mother asked.

"We thought about it, and I don't think we will," Fleur replied. "Louis will be sleeping, and Victoire is already looking tired, so she might want a nap. We'll take them to meet Madame Maxime another time, I think."

"Well, we are more than happy to look after them for you," her mother said with a smile. Fleur felt slightly guilty that she didn't visit her parents a great deal. Being grandparents had to be something they loved, and Fleur deprived them of some of that. She resolved to visit them more often.

A short time before they were due to leave to go to Beauxbatons, Gabrielle pulled Fleur into her room. Gabrielle looked slightly nervous, and Fleur felt worried and decided that perhaps using French was better for this situation.

"What's wrong?" Fleur asked, sitting next to Gabrielle on her bed. Gabrielle's room was much the same as it had been when she was a little girl, but there were more thick books than kids' books and school things scattered around the place. It was still a light shade of pink, and even the sheets on Gabrielle's bed were the same.

"How do you know when you love someone?" Gabrielle blurted out almost so quickly that Fleur missed it.

"I assume you mean Issac?" Fleur asked with a smile. Gabrielle nodded. "Do you think you love him?"

"I don't know," Gabrielle admitted. "I might. You love Bill, right? How did you know that you did?"

"I can't say, really," Fleur replied after a moment. "It wasn't something I just realised. It was just … I suppose it was just there. We connected and everything went from there. But it isn't always like that. Mama and Papa weren't like that. They were friends for a long time before they even noticed."

"But it's different for us because we have Veela blood, right?" Gabrielle asked. Fleur looked at her evenly.

"In a way," she said. "It is not us, though. We are just the same as normal girls with normal emotions. It's the men. It is sometimes difficult to know if they like us, or like the Veela part."

"Like with Roger Davies?" Gabrielle asked. Fleur nodded. During the Triwizard Tournament, Fleur started seeing Roger for a short period of time. She had quite liked Roger as he was handsome and very smart. She had learned the night of the Yule Ball that he was enamored with her because of the Veela side. She didn't hold it against him because he knew that most were somewhat weakened by that aspect of her, and her own advances had only encouraged that.

"Like with Roger," Fleur confirmed. "He liked me because of the Veela part. It's not his fault, but you know that already. Guys will always look at you because of that. Do you think it's like that with Isaac?"

"I don't know," Gabrielle said.

"I'll ask you a question, then," Fleur said and Gabrielle nodded. "When you're together, can he focus on other things or other people?"

"He does that sometimes," Gabrielle replied. "Not that he's rude, of course. But he doesn't spend all his time looking at me."

"Then that's a good indication that the Veela part isn't much of a problem," Fleur said. "Roger spent too much time watching me to the point that he couldn't even eat properly." Gabrielle giggled.

"Was Bill ever like that?" she asked.

"When we first met, yes," Fleur replied. "But that is to be expected. He got over that very quickly." Gabrielle was silent for a few moments.

"I have to do some thinking," Gabrielle told Fleur after some time.

"If you love him, then you love him," Fleur said simply. "You cannot do anything about that. Bear in mind that Isaac may not be the boy you end up with in the long run. Bill and I got married young, but that doesn't have to be the same for you. But if you're in love, embrace it. It's the best feeling in the world. Just don't tell Papa."

Laughing, Gabrielle hugged Fleur tightly. Fleur hugged her back

"Thank you," Gabrielle said sincerely. "You always know what to say to help me."

"Oh, another thing," Fleur said, only partially joking. "If Isaac hurts you, I hurt him. Got it?"

"Got it," Gabrielle said with a smile. Deep down she knew that Fleur would never hurt Isaac, and it was true. Fleur believed that there were far too many people in the world being hurt, and the thought of being the cause of that for someone else was almost unbearable to her.

"Ready to go?" Fleur asked and Gabrielle nodded. They exited her room and made their way to the fireplace. When Bill looked at them expectantly, Fleur grinned and said. "Girl stuff."

Fleur went first followed by Gabrielle and then by Bill. They exited the fireplace into Madame Maxime's office. The office was as Fleur had remembered it. There were many tall bookcases, not all of which housed only books. Some shelves had pictures of past students, and some personal items that Madame Maxime liked to keep around. The rest of the office seemed like it was designed for comfort. There was a large, comfortable looking chair in front of a desk. Due to Madame Maxime's size, the desk was rather large. Opposite the desk sat a couch that Fleur was used to sitting in whenever she visited. It was immensely comfortable as it was fitted with feathers. It was also charmed so that it would raise high enough to see over the desk depending on who was sitting on it. For everything within, there was no sign of Madame Maxime.

"She's probably in the Dining Hall," Fleur said. The Dining Hall was basically the same as the Hogwarts' Great Hall, but was somewhat grander, with painstaking effort having been put in to make it as easy on the eyes as possible.

"It's a bit early for that," Bill said, glancing at his watch.

"She'll be around somewhere," Gabrielle said quickly. "Can I go find Isaac please?" Fleur laughed.

"Go and look for him," Fleur said. "If you see Madame Maxime, let her know that we're looking for her. But don't mention our names."

"I won't," Gabrielle promised, and swiftly exited through the entrance to the office.

"She must really like this boy," Bill said with a smile. _You don't know the half of it_, Fleur thought. Fleur moved to the window behind Madame Maxime's desk. She looked out of it over the grounds of Beauxbaton's. Fleur always found it calming to look out at the carefully tended gardens, with the hedges trimmed to perfection and the flowers constantly in bloom. The water fountains were always bubbling away, and Fleur always wished that she could somehow spend more time around them.

This time, however, she did not find looking out at the grounds at all calming.

Fleur gasped as she watched students running across the grounds in a great deal of haste. She saw one girl, probably no older than fourteen, get hit with a Killing Curse and fall into one of the bubbling fountains.

"Bill, we need to help," Fleur said, pointing out of the window. When Bill saw what Fleur had seen, he swore. It was a testament to the events that Fleur didn't chide him for it as she normally would. "We need to get Gabrielle right now."

"I'll go look for her," Bill said, moving to leave the office, but Fleur stopped him.

"No," she said firmly, her heart racing. "You don't know the Palace like I do. I'll find Gabrielle. I know where she will go. You go and help get the children out."

"Where do I take them?" Bill asked quickly. Fleur couldn't think.

"There might be some teachers who know what to do, but if there isn't, create a Portkey and send a lot of them to just outside of the Fidelius charm on my parents' house," she said frantically. "We'll decide what to do from there."

"Be careful," Bill said quietly. Fleur kissed him quickly. "I love you."

"I love you too," Fleur replied. "If you need to talk to me, use the earring."

Bill ran out of the room in the direction Fleur had pointed him. Fleur followed after and went in the opposite direction. She assumed that Gabrielle would head to the Dining Hall first, and then seek out the boys' dormitory to try and find Isaac. Beyond that, Fleur also made a mental note to search the library. Gabrielle had mentioned that Isaac liked to read.

It didn't take long for Fleur to find Gabrielle. She was dodging spells thrown at her from a short man in a silver mask that covered her face. Fleur's heart jumped into her throat as she saw that one of the spells she dodged was a Killing Curse. It was lucky that Gabrielle was very light on her feet. Fleur raised her wand.

"_Stupefy_!" she growled. The Death Eater slumped to the ground, having not even noticed her. She saw another one advancing on her. She used a shield charm to stop a Severing Charm from hitting her just as Gabrielle did the same nearby. Despite her vocalisation of the Stunner, Fleur was proficient in wordless magic, while Gabrielle was not.

"_Stupefy_!" Gabrielle shouted. Fleur lowered her shield and silently sent off a second Stunner just after Gabrielle's. The Death Eater blocked the first, but didn't see the second. They fell to the ground. Fleur surveyed the area and saw no other threat.

"Go to Madame Maxime's office," she told Gabrielle. "Take the Floo back home and stay there."

"I have to find Isaac," Gabrielle said firmly.

"You need to go home, now," Fleur insisted. "It isn't safe here."

"No!" Gabrielle shouted. "I'm going to look for Isaac! I need to know he's safe."

"Go to Madame Maxime's office and go home!" Fleur shouted back louder. Gabrielle looked shocked. Fleur didn't remember the last time she yelled at her little sister. "I couldn't take it if you died. Just, please. Go home. For me."

"I love him," Gabrielle said quietly. Fleur nodded.

"I know you do," she said. "I knew you did when you talked to me. But you can't stay here. Bill's helping the students get out. He'll help Isaac. You need to go."

"Okay," Gabrielle said reluctantly. "Please be careful."

"I will," Fleur promised, wiping away the tear on Gabrielle's cheek away. "Now go."

Fleur watched as Gabrielle ran in the direction of Madame Maxime's office. She couldn't be sure that Gabrielle would do what she said she would. She could only hope.

Fleur turned to the downed bodies. She walked to the one that had been attacking Gabrielle and stomped on both his hands, feeling the bones crack under her feet. She then picked up his wand and snapped it in two right then and there. She threw them to the ground. She broke the second one's wand as well, though she didn't go so far as to break any bones.

She had found Gabrielle, but Fleur was worried about the remaining students as well as Madame Maxime. She made the decision to at least check the nearby areas to see if she could help with anything. If she didn't at least do that, Fleur wasn't sure that she could live with herself.

She ran along the hallway, checking inside every room as she went, finding that they were all empty. When she looked into the library, she found the librarian dead on the floor. She had always liked the old librarian, and found herself getting angry. _She wouldn't have ever hurt anyone_.

Finally she came to the Dining Hall. She hastily pushed open the doors.

Inside, the Hall looked much the same as it had when she hat attended Beauxbatons. The school had never had the House system that Hogwarts had, and focused on a larger amount of seating so that friends could all sit together nicely. The arrangements of the tables and chairs differed from year to year. However, the tables were all pushed against the walls and some were even in splinters.

Madame Maxime was on her knees in the middle of the Hall. Behind her stood three Death Eaters and in front of her, facing the doorway, was Voldemort.

Fleur had only glimpsed Voldemort once during the Battle of Hogwarts, and that had been enough. But there he was, right in front of her. He was just as legend had it. He had his wand pointed at Madame Maxime, though he didn't appear to be readying a spell.

"We have a visitor," Voldemort said slowly as he noticed Fleur in the doorway. The Death Eaters and Madame Maxime all turned around together and Fleur found that the Death Eaters were all wearing masks as well.

"Fleur Delacour," one of the Death Eaters said silkily. "One of the Triwizard Champions years ago. She did terribly."

"She's insignificant to you, my lord," another said.

"Fleur, run!" Madame Maxime shouted.

"Silence!" Voldemort shouted. Madame Maxime turned around and faced him.

"Silence me then," she said. "Flight from death, indeed. Flight to death more like."

Voldemort stepped forward and slapped her. Fleur felt herself fill with anger and attempted to quash it down as she had been taught to. A Veela's emotions are a dangerous thing. Fleur raised her wand as quickly as she could manage.

She shot a stunner towards the Death Eater that had not spoken and before the Death Eater that was aimed at could react, she pointed her wand at the one who had spoken first and fired a Reductor Curse, aiming for his head.

Both spells were expertly blocked by the Death Eaters and the second was rebounded in an odd direction, splintering a table on impact.

"Deal with her," Voldemort said loudly. The three Death Eaters raised their wands, but Fleur moved away from the door and ran down the hall. She looked behind her after a moment and saw them chasing her. She ducked a Killing Curse and thought she felt her hair blow from the movement.

Fleur quickly turned into a corridor and then turned again. She continued to do so as she knew the ins and outs of Beauxbatons better than most, and she was very quick so she thought she could lose the Death Eaters quite easily. After a moment she came to a dead end that was not illuminated at all. She stopped and tried to control her breathing. She couldn't hear footsteps.

Fleur took a moment to catch her breath, her mind racing. She couldn't think of anything that might help, and it was frustrating her. Her mind seemed to go over nearly everything she knew to do with magic, but was coming up short. Suddenly it came to her what she could do. She pointed her wand to her throat.

"_Sonorus_," she whispered. She then made sure not to speak as she let the emotions of the ordeal wash over her. She felt Bill kiss her before running off to help the students. She saw Gabrielle narrowly dodge a Killing Curse sent by a masked Death Eater. She saw Madame Maxime on her knees, still taller than most, getting slapped by Voldemort. She felt the anger, worry and frustration wash over her and she began to feel something change within her.

Fleur was only one-quarter Veela, but she possessed some of the traits that Veela are known for. She could not transform into the bird-like creatures like full blooded Veela can, but there was a small change that happened to her that she knew about, and she thought she could exploit it. Fleur got to her feet and started running.

Fleur screamed. It wasn't the scream of a woman. It wasn't even the scream of a human. It was the screech of a Veela, and it was painful to hear. For anyone with no Veela ancestry, they would feel immense pain, hearing it, though it would do no permanent damage to those that heard it. And Fleur was amplifying the noise so loudly that she believed that it likely could be heard all throughout the Palace and on the grounds.

Fleur's mouth hung open and her eyes blazed a deep gold as her Veela side took partial control of her. The screech went on for a long time as she ran through the maze of corridors back towards the Dining Hall. Along the way she encountered two of the three Death Eaters who had been chasing her. They didn't even acknowledge her passing as the shrieking was causing them immense pain. They were doubled over and one had even dropped their wand, which Fleur promptly picked up and snapped before running again.

She entered into the Dining Hall to find that her shriek had also had an effect on Voldemort, though he was seemingly not as badly affected as the other Death Eaters as he was still on his feet. Madame Maxime had her ears covered and looked to be in a lot of pain. Seeing her like that seemed to snap Fleur out of the semi-Veela state as the shriek stopped and her eyes returned to their normal shade of blue.

Immediately Fleur pointed her wand at Voldemort as she advanced on him, anger in her eyes. Before he could recover, Fleur silently cast three spells in quick succession, two towards Voldemort and one other spell directed towards Madame Maxime. The first towards Voldemort was the Severing Charm and second the Fire-Making Spell. The third was a spell that allowed Fleur to move Madame Maxime from the middle of the Hall to the back.

Voldemort reacted too quickly and dodged, but not quite as quickly as he might have, as Fleur watched as the Severing Charm impacted with his right ear, with the Fire-Making Spell following soon after, only seeming to brush the side of his face. It was enough as the spot where his ear had been seemed to catch fire. For a few seconds she saw the fire on the side of Voldemort's face, but then it was extinguished by the remaining Death Eater who had been standing at the door when Fleur entered. She had not seen him. Fleur cursed herself for not having hit Voldemort with a Stunner when she could have.

Fleur whirled around and silently casted another Severing Charm. The Death Eater didn't shield himself quick enough, but tried to block it with his hand as he ducked. Fleur saw the charm cut through the fingers of his right hand. He screamed.

Fleur turned back to Voldemort with a determined and angry look on her face, which immediately fell when she saw what was on the stone floor in front of her.

"No," Fleur exclaimed as she looked on in horror. "Please, no. Not them."

Fleur fell to her knees and cried out in pain. Not a Veela screech. Human pain.

Bill was lying dead on the floor in front of her. Next to him lay the still form of Victoire, blood on her clothes. Close to her was her baby, Louis, who was not breathing.

_No, no, no, no, no, no_, Fleur thought. It was all she could think as the tears started to fall down her face. She could hear a high-pitched laugh, but it was as if it were a mile away. She opened her eyes again, hoping beyond hope that she hadn't seen what she thought she had. When she saw the three bodies again, she let out another scream and started to weep.

It wasn't enough to be on her knees. She fell face first to the stone floor, her forehead feeling the coolness of the stone. It felt as though hours passed as she wept, her head pressed to the floor.

_My babies_, Fleur thought between sobs. _My Bill_.

"Get her up," a voice demanded. Fleur was beyond remembering who it was.

"My lord," a second, pained voice said. "I can't."

"Use your other hand, Lucius, you fool," the first voice spat. Fleur continued to sob. She felt someone grab her roughly and pulled her up. She couldn't stand and she fell back to the ground again and howled in pain once again. "You _will_ stand. _Crucio_!"

Fleur felt an immense pain run through her entire body, as if every cell she had was calling for death. Even in as much pain as she was, Fleur sobbed as she tried to get rid of the image of Bill, Victoire and Louis dead on the floor in her mind.

"Now, stand!" the voice commanded as the torture subsided. Fleur felt herself be pulled up once again, though this time she managed to keep her balance. She opened her eyes. Voldemort was in front of her, part of his head seemingly burned. Behind him, three bodies lay on the unforgiving stone floor.

"Fleur?" came the disembodied voice of Bill. Fleur looked at the body of her husband and let out a sob.

"No," she muttered in French. "No. Don't haunt me please. Please. I couldn't help you. Please."

"What's going on?" the disembodied voice of Bill asked and Fleur sobbed again.

"It seems your prized student has lost it, Maxime," Voldemort said. Fleur thought she could hear someone calling to her, but she was too lost to care. "They always do in the end. Perhaps this will teach you. Lucius, get her on her knees."

Fleur was pushed roughly to the floor, and her knees hit stone. She barely registered the pain. She felt someone pull her hair roughly so she was looking up. She opened her eyes and looked at Voldemort.

_Not my hair_, Fleur thought to herself as Voldemort raised his wand. _Bill loves my hair_.

"Fleur?" Bill asked once more, incredibly worried. Fleur sobbed, thinking of Bill lying in the couch at Shell Cottage, asleep with Louis on his chest and Victoire cuddled to his side.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Oh god, what have I done?

I feel like now is as good a time as any to express my sincere thanks that people have managed to stick with my story. I know this chapter is incredibly depressing, and some people will hate me for it, but I still think it's important to acknowledge just how fantastic my fans are. I love you all, even if you might not love me that much right at this very moment.

A huge thank you to _MissMalfoy77_, _RosieeWeebb_, _mmmmm_, _H_ and _TheFantabulousPotterHead_ for your reviews of my last chapter. It's people like you that make my day.

Please treat me kindly. I hope to see you all in the next chapter.

_**~Colin, The Master of Whisperers**_


	15. Escalating Danger

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Escalating Danger**_

_"The difference between what we do, and what we are capable of doing, would solve most of the world's problems."_  
- Mahatma Gandhi

_**Draco Malfoy**_

_**25**__**th**__** December, 2003**_

"Do we really have to go there?" Draco asked Astoria as he lay on their bed, her arms wrapped around him. "Today?"

"I think we do," Astoria replied with a cute smile. "They've been alone for so long. It will be nice for them to have an enjoyable Christmas with new people."

"It won't be enjoyable for them if I'm there," Draco muttered.

"You underestimate them and yourself," Astoria chided him. "Yes, I know. You were terrible to them and their friends and family. I know that."

"Well I was," Draco insisted as he had done several times over the past weeks.

"And are you like it now?" Astoria asked seriously.

"Well, I don't hate them," Draco replied. Astoria scoffed.

"That's putting it lightly, don't you think?" she asked. "Compared to everyone else you know, you positively love them and you know it."

"I wouldn't go that far," Draco said quietly. He had thought on this for quite some time ever since they had discovered the occupants of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, and there was something in Draco that couldn't let him see them as anyone other than the people that he hated at Hogwarts. He had said and done terrible things to Granger, and while he had not done much to the others, there was a certain two-way hatred involved. He felt willing to somehow make amends, but he couldn't see how. He felt lucky that at least Bill, Fleur and Luna trusted him enough. "You know I want to like them. I just don't know if they want to like me." Astoria swatted him on the side of the head.

"Of course they do you dolt," she said, amused. "Whether you believe this or not, you and I are the only people that they know that can help them in any real way. They know that you're working to bring the Dark Lord down, and they are obviously willing to accept you if that's your goal."

"Maybe some of them," Draco said. "Granger won't. She might pretend to for the sake of the others, but she doesn't trust me at all. Frankly, I'm not sure I would trust her with your life."

"My life?" Astoria asked, surprised.

"Yes, your life," Draco replied fervently. "Your life is more important to me than my own is."

"That may just be the most romantic thing you've ever said to me," Astoria said, kissing Draco. "It makes me wonder what you would have said if you had proposed to me."

"Unfortunately that isn't how marriage contracts work," Draco replied sadly. "I might do it one day. Anyway, I don't know how I could trust Granger. After everything I've done, she can't possibly trust me. And if she can't trust me, I can't trust her."

"Part of the reason might be that you call her 'Granger' all the time," Astoria pointed out. "Try using her first name from time to time. You might find that she warms to you a bit more."

"'Hermione' is a stupid name," Draco muttered, making Astoria laugh. "What?"

"Your name is Draco," she said. "Mine is Astoria. Your father's is Lucius. My father's is Ventrus. Your mother's is Narcissa. Luckily my mother is simply Joan. I don't think we get to say what names are stupid and what ones aren't." Draco chuckled.

"I suppose you're right," he said finally. "I can't promise anything except that I'll try. I want to be able to trust them."

"Good," Astoria said, kissing Draco on the cheek and then pulling away from him. "As much as I would love to stay here in your arms all Christmas, we need to get going. We have three homes to visit."

"We could see if Mother wants to come with us to your parents'," Draco suggested and Astoria immediately scrunched her nose. "Father is doing something for the Dark Lord, so she's on her own."

"I know, but your mother doesn't like my family," Astoria said.

"I'm sure she can deal with it for one day," Draco replied, sitting up. "She can be civil."

"I know she can," Astoria said. "Oh, we'll give it a go. She may not even want to go with us at all."

"Who else will be there?" Draco asked.

"Only my parents, Daphne and Blaise," Astoria assured him.

"Well that's a positive at least," Draco said wryly. "Mother likes Blaise. Sometimes I think she'd have been happier if I ended up with him."

"Well, she can keep dreaming," Astoria said, laughing.

"Have you told Daphne anything more?" Draco asked seriously. After Draco and Astoria went to Hogwarts the first time, Astoria had insisted that she tell Daphne what their plans were. She was sure that her sister felt the same way about the Dark Lord, so Draco agreed to tell Daphne. What Draco couldn't understand was how Daphne would be able to actively fight against the Dark Lord while still being married to Blaise. He vaguely wondered if she was able to make Blaise see the truth like Astoria had done with him. He knew that he couldn't ask Blaise outright, because he knew that Blaise would never say something like that out loud, especially to a Malfoy. Malfoy outranks Zabini in the mind of the Dark Lord, so that made Blaise much more cautious than he might have been. Draco knew that there was a possibility that Blaise knew what Daphne did, though he wasn't entirely sure. Draco and Astoria had decided early on not to mention anything about Grimmauld Place or the inhabitants to anyone, even Daphne.

"No, she only knows what we've done at Hogwarts," Astoria replied. This included, Draco knew, the Prophecy that they had been given. "Other than that, she doesn't know about anything else."

Soon, Draco and Astoria were at Malfoy Manor, where they found Draco's mother alone in the sitting room reading a book.

"Do you want to come with us to the Greengrass home for lunch?" Draco asked his mother after the exchange of pleasantries.

"Not particularly," she replied curtly. "You only ask me this because your father isn't here."

"What is he doing anyway?" Draco asked curiously. Ever since the Dark Lord's victory, Draco found that the Dark Lord had less use for younger Death Eaters like himself. Especially after his marriage to Astoria. Draco assumed that the Dark Lord believed that Draco's job was to have children and nothing more. He was rarely even summoned any more, not that he found this to be an annoyance.

"The Dark Lord forbade him to discuss it with anyone," his mother replied. "As you well know. All I know is that he may not be back for a few days."

"Which is why you should come with us," Draco insisted. "You shouldn't spend Christmas alone." His mother scoffed.

"Christmas," she said derisively. "Ridiculous holiday. Some pagan festival passed down from long ago, forced upon us by religion. A religion, I might point out, that only Mudbloods practice in our society. We do know better."

Draco was well aware of his mother's beliefs on the subject. As a child he had always been upset at the way his mother had treated the holiday, especially when what few friends he had were having such a good time. While it is true that most wizards and witches don't follow a religion, which Draco assumed was because of the massive Muggle followings surrounding them, there was a belief about the afterlife. Most cited ghosts for that belief. Draco had never been sure.

"That may be so," Astoria put in sweetly, "but you are still alone when you could be surrounded by others. You do not dislike my family all that much, do you?" There was a silence.

"Fine," Narcissa said, snapping only slightly. "I'll go to your lunch."

"And by civil?" Draco asked. His mother shot him a look.

"Of course," she said simply.

The three of them arrived at the Greengrass home and were greeted by Ventrus and Joan Greengrass who were pleased to see them arrive, though raised their eyes slightly at the sight of Narcissa Malfoy in their home. Draco kissed his mother-in-law on the cheek and shook hands with Ventrus, who seemed to be trying to break some bones.

Ventrus Greengrass was a thick-set man with a close-cropped grey beard flecked with brown. He always seemed to be in a good mood, and tried his best to pass this on to everyone around him. Joan was shorter than he was and had black hair that fell to her waist. She had an almost stern face, which still managed to look somewhat happy. It was clear that Astoria and Daphne had gotten their looks mainly from their mother.

Blaise and Daphne, who had been seated on a couch when Draco arrived were now standing. Draco shook Blaise's hand.

"It's been too long," Blaise said quietly. Blaise had never been one for speaking, and that had apparently not been changed too much.

"Not all that long," Draco reminded him. "We were at Pansy's wedding together, though I admit that we didn't talk very much."

A flicker of annoyance crossed Blaise's face, but was gone quickly.

"I had forgotten," Blaise replied, smiling lightly.

"My husband's memory can be lacking sometimes," Daphne said with a smile. She reached out her arms and Draco hugged her quickly.

"I seem to remember that from Hogwarts," Draco said grinning towards Blaise. "McGonagall and Flitwick were always on your back about that." Draco saw his mother's expression change, but Draco pretended not to notice.

"Absolutely," Blaise admitted. "Though I'm glad for that Slytherin bias Snape had. He might have eaten me alive."

During lunch Draco and Astoria were seated together with Draco's mother on his right. Ventrus sat at the head of the table near Astoria and Joan was on his left with Daphne next to her and Blaise next to Daphne.

"What have you been doing recently Mrs Malfoy?" Blaise asked.

"Call me Narcissa," Narcissa replied. "But to answer your question, not a great deal honestly. I've been considering actually getting a job so that I have something to do. Things have gotten a great deal more boring since the Dark Lord's conquest."

Draco's mother had been considering getting a job, Draco knew for certain. He also knew that it would go no further than that. She had never worked a day in her life, coming from the Black family and then almost immediately marrying into the Malfoy family. Money had never been an issue, and Draco knew that she would just get frustrated with actual work. That said, he knew that he had never had a job either. He had considered it, but his father had shot it down. "A Malfoy does not work. People work so that we don't have to. That's the way it is," he had said.

"You should get a job, mother," Astoria said. Draco saw Joan's smile falter, but it didn't disappear. "It is so fulfilling. I've been trying to convince Draco to do the same, but he's so stubborn." Astoria grasped his hand on top of the table.

"Yes, that has always been a trait of his," Narcissa said flatly. "A trait that a Malfoy _should_ possess."

"I agree with Astoria," Blaise said. "You could do spectacularly somewhere in the Ministry. I have no doubt that every Department would be clamouring for someone of your stature."

"You're very kind," Narcissa said with a broad smile that Draco rarely saw. "Perhaps you are right, but I do not believe that Lucius would allow me to take a job. It would be such a blow to his ego."

"Narcissa, you should do what you like," Joan put in. "Life is too short to do anything but that, don't you think?"

"I think," Narcissa said, a hint of venom in her voice that Draco was aware that everyone at the table could hear, "that there are some things more important than individual happiness. Doing what is required of you should take precedence over anything else, even if it hurts you. You simply do it."

"Well, it's ultimately your decision," Joan said with an equal amount of venom. "I just don't think that a life is important if it is spent filled with bitterness and regret."

"Just what are you implying?" Narcissa snapped.

"Nothing," Joan said calmly. "It is a statement of what I believe to be fact. However, if you choose to take offence, that would be your prerogative."

"What makes you think you know what's best for everyone?" Narcissa asked. Draco saw that everyone else were looking quite unsettled.

"I only know what has been best for me," Joan replied. "I am aware that some may not see the world as I do, but I try my best to help those around me."

Ventrus clicked his fingers and three house-elves appeared and quickly filled the table with food. There were three plates of meet as well as a full turkey as well as some salads, several baked vegetables and a strange looking pasta that Draco loved around this time of year. Ventrus had done the only thing he could have done in the situation and Draco was thankful.

Draco talked with Blaise and Daphne while everyone ate, occasionally being fed something by Astoria or feeding her something. Her parents looked on with pleased looks, but Draco could tell that his mother didn't feel the same way. While Draco and Astoria were doing all of this, he noticed that the same was not happening for Blaise and Daphne. He knew that they had been married longer, and he wondered whether he and Astoria would get to be like them.

Draco's parents had never been overly demonstrative of their relationship, Draco knew. He knew that they loved each other, but it was very hard to tell at times. It was different for him and Astoria, and it worried him that they might get to a point where they weren't like this. Then he thought about Ventrus and Joan who were much more open with their relationship, and it did give him some hope. If he and Astoria could reach their age and be like them, he would be happy.

His mother barely spoke again, and when she did it was only to Draco, Blaise or, occasionally, Daphne. Draco realised that he was finding it difficult to converse with anyone. Most of the things that he thought of to talk about he knew that he couldn't, so there was little to talk about. At least with Blaise and Daphne there was their years at Hogwarts.

"Thank you for lunch," Draco told Ventrus as Astoria was saying goodbye to her mother and Daphne.

"Any time," Ventrus said, clapping Draco on the shoulder. "You should come here more. We would be very pleased to see you and our little girl. But we know how it is to be newlyweds. I don't hold it against you."

"That's good to hear," Draco said, smiling. "We will try to make it more often." Ventrus then pulled Draco in for a hug, something that he had done before.

"We know about what you're doing, and we support it," Ventrus whispered quickly and pulled away. Draco was shocked, but made sure to not show anything on his face. "That's good for a father to hear. I miss my daughters so very much. You'll find out when you have a child of your own."

"Giving me ideas are you?" Draco joked. Ventrus laughed.

"In your own time," he said with a smile. "Children are such a big step. Sometimes you need to make sure that their surroundings are right before you bring them into the world." Draco understood what he meant.

"Goodbye Draco," he heard Daphne say from behind him. He turned and she hugged him. He felt her hand go into the pocket of his robes and leave very quickly. She kissed him on the cheek. "We must catch up more often. We are brother and sister now."

"To be honest, I never thought of it that way," Draco admitted. "But yes, you're right." Draco shook Blaise's hand and then kissed Joan on the cheek. His mother left to Malfoy Manor and Draco and Astoria used the Floo to go to Spinner's End.

"Well, we ought to get to Grimmauld Place," Astoria said as soon as they got home.

"Wait," Draco said, reaching into his pocket. "Daphne slipped this into my pocket when she hugged me." Draco read the front of the envelope.

_Do NOT open this unless something drastic happens to me._

Draco handed the envelope over to Astoria. She looked slightly surprised.

"Why did she give it to me and not you?" Draco asked.

"My pockets are full," Astoria said.

"Well, what is it?" Draco asked, looking at the letter again. He turned it over and saw that it was sealed with plain black wax.

"I don't know," Astoria admitted. "It has to be important. Daph wouldn't do this unless it was. You don't think she's doing something dangerous, do you?" Draco could see that Astoria was worried so he pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sure that whatever it is is important," Draco said. "She'll be fine. The question is, should we leave it until something happens to her or do we open it now?"

"If it was something she wanted us to know, she wouldn't have given it to us like that," Astoria pointed out. "There are reasons why she wouldn't want us to open it until the last moment."

"Memories, I suppose," Draco realised. "So she must be doing something that she doesn't want to implicate us in."

"It must be dangerous," Astoria said, thinking. "No, we don't open it. If us knowing what's in that letter is dangerous to Daph, then we shouldn't read it."

"I agree," Draco said, walking to the bookshelf. He pointed his wand at a book and the shelf moved aside to reveal a wall safe. Draco put his wand to it. It was keyed into his and Astoria's magical signatures, so it opened. There was nothing inside. Draco sat the letter in there, closed the safe and pointed his wand at the book again, making the shelf move back into position. "It will be safe there until we need it."

When that was done, Draco and Astoria changed into some Muggle clothes. It was easier than wearing their robes. They used the Floo to get to Grimmauld Place. When they got there, Angelina, Katie and Alicia were already there, but Draco noticed that Bill, Fleur and their kids weren't there.

_Great_, Draco thought looking around the room. _Luna's the only one here who actually trusts me._

"Sorry we're late," Astoria said pleasantly. "We spent more time than we would have liked to at my parents' home."

Draco sat down next to Astoria on one of the couches.

"We were just reminiscing," Ginny said. "Mostly about Hogwarts."

"Oh?" Astoria asked. "We're sorry to interrupt. Continue talking." Draco saw Granger looking at him oddly.

"We were just talking about the Yule Ball," Angelina said. "Were you there then?"

"I was in First Year," Astoria said. "I really wish I could have gone. Was it beautiful?"

"Well, Hogwarts never did anything by half," Angelina said, laughing. "It was gorgeous. I stayed in there almost all night with Fred. Though I did have to contend with George for some of it."

Everyone laughed, and even Draco smiled. He had not been fond of the Weasley family but even he had to admit that the twins could be amusing at times.

"I think I remember seeing them dancing together at one point," Granger said with a smile.

"Oh, like you were paying attention," Ginny chided humourously. "You were there with Viktor Krum."

"I can focus on more than one thing at once," Granger said. "But I admit that it was particularly difficult. You went with Neville, right?"

"Yeah," Ginny replied. "You wouldn't think it, but Neville was actually a great dancer. I never told anyone this, but I almost fell for him that night. It would have happened except he never showed any interest after it."

"Who did you go with Draco?" Luna asked so suddenly that Draco almost jumped.

"Uh, Pansy Parkinson," Draco replied quickly. "Not the greatest of nights. I spent a lot of it feeling oddly jealous."

"Of Harry?" Granger asked emotionlessly.

"For one," Draco admitted. "And of Roger Davies, though I think almost every guy there was jealous of him. And Krum a bit as well." Hermione flushed but said nothing.

"Knowing Parkinson that couldn't have been too bad a night," Ginny said. Draco shook his head.

"I really wasn't a good date for her," Draco admitted. "She didn't talk to me for a week."

"Did you go, Luna?" Astoria asked. Draco wondered if she was deliberately trying to change the topic.

"Oh no," Luna replied serenely. "I wasn't very well-liked, so no boy asked me. I don't think I would have liked it anyway. I've never been one for traditional dancing." A few of the others laughed, but Draco didn't understand why.

Later, Draco and Astoria were left with Luna, Angelina, Alicia and Katie as the other had moved to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Even though they had had a large lunch, Draco was looking forward to dinner anyway. The tension in the air was thick, and Draco couldn't help but want it to go away.

"I know I wasn't your favourite person," Draco told the three former Gryffindor chasers. "Far from it I would guess."

"You put Katie in St. Mungo's," Alicia said angrily. "You could have killed her."

"I know, and I apologise for that," Draco said. He wasn't used to apologising, and he wasn't sure if he was doing it correctly. In fact, it was not one of the things that his father had taught him over the years. The Malfoy name was apology enough, Draco assumed. "I know it doesn't exonerate me, but you have to understand my position."

"Go ahead and explain it then," Alicia said hotly. Angelina nodded. Katie looked to be slightly embarrassed.

"The Dark Lord tasked me to kill Dumbledore," Draco said plainly as Astoria squeezed his hand. "If the year had gone by without Dumbledore dying, he would have killed me. Or worse, he'd have tortured me for so long that I would want to die."

"What does that have to do with Katie?" Angelina asked.

"I didn't target Katie specifically," Draco said. "Any girl would have worked. It just so happened that Katie was the one there. That attempt was a poor one, but I was young and I was scared for my life. It was the best I could think of at the time. I'm sorry that you got caught in that. But I don't regret doing it."

"I forgive you," Katie said quietly.

"Katie," Alicia said quietly.

"No," Katie said firmly. "You heard his explanation and I think it makes sense. I don't know what I would do if it had happened to me. I might have done the same thing."

"Why didn't you go to Dumbledore about it?" Angelina asked. "He would have helped you, surely."

Draco pulled up the left arm of the sweater he was wearing to reveal the Dark Mark on his forearm. It was dark as ever, but now it sickened him. It sickened him when he got it as well, but in a different way. The way the Dark Lord applies the Dark Mark is painful to the point that Draco had almost thrown up. It was horrifying and Draco still occasionally had nightmares about it happening.

"I already had this," Draco said. "And my father has it as well. There was no going back in my mind. It was kill Dumbledore or die."

Angelina reached out and pulled his arm closer. Draco attempted to flinch away, but Astoria squeezed his other hand, so he let her look.

"I'm not proud of it," Draco said.

"I've never seen it before," Angelina muttered. "Not on the arm anyway." Draco pulled his arm back and pulled down his sleeve.

"I know it will be hard," Astoria put in, "but Draco really isn't the same boy from Hogwarts. He regrets it. I know he does."

"I trust him," Luna said. "I think you should too."

"We can try," Katie said before Angelina or Alicia could speak.

Not long after this, they were in the dining room eating dinner. Granger handed Draco a bowl.

"Thank you, Hermione," Draco said, struggling. The room went silent, but Granger was seemingly unperturbed.

"It's just a bowl, Draco," she said smoothly, sitting back down. The room was quiet. Draco smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said just as they heard the fireplace flare up in the sitting room.

"Bill and Fleur aren't due back yet," Ginny commented. Draco saw her, Charlie and Hermione draw their wands. He looked at Luna who looked worried. As Charlie moved to the sitting room they heard a voice. A male voice with a French accent.

"Emergency!" he yelled. Everyone stood from their seats and hurried into the sitting room, Draco, Astoria and Luna in the back. A short plump man stood with Bill's arm around his shoulders. Bill's head was limp.

"What happened?" Ginny demanded as Charlie helped the man set Bill on the couch. Draco could tell that Bill had been stunned. "Alphonse?"

"Beauxbatonz waz attacked by Death Eaters," the man said, tears forming in his eyes.

"Where's Fleur?" Hermione asked. Alphonse started to weep.

"She waz killed!" he cried, anguish in his voice. The room collectively drew in a breath before Ginny broke down. Hermione, too, looked on the verge of a break down.

"Where are the kids?" Charlie demanded. "Are they safe?"

"Apolline 'az them," Alphonse replied. "I will bring them now."

"I'll help," Charlie said firmly and within a few moments he and Alphonse were gone. Soon they returned, Charlie with Louis and Alphonse with Victoire.

"I stunned 'im," Alphonse admitted. "'e was too far gone. 'e should be out for at least twenty more minutes."

It only now occurred to Draco what his father was doing that would take so long. He couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about what happened. He wondered if they would have gone to Beauxbatons had he told them that the Dark Lord was doing something. It didn't help that he didn't feel as sad as everyone else seemingly did. By the time that Alphonse left the house, Ginny and Hermione were crying in earnest while Luna looked off into space. The Gryffindor Chasers looked upset, and he could tell that Astoria was affected as well. Charlie was the only one who didn't show it. He took both of the kids upstairs and put them to bed.

Draco was upset that Fleur was dead. He had liked her for years, and she was one of the first people out of the group to trust him, which had made him like her even more. There was a small part of him that wanted to be more upset, but his conditioning by his father didn't let him. He was too well trained to have a large emotional reaction. When Charlie came downstairs again, he looked at Draco.

"Did you know?" he asked simply.

"I knew they were doing something, but I didn't know it would be taking France," Draco admitted. "Even if I did, I didn't know that Bill and Fleur were going to Beauxbatons, so I couldn't have warned them about it."

Charlie looked him over for a few moments, but said nothing. Draco made a decision.

"Look, Charlie," he said quiet enough that he wouldn't be overheard. "I'm going to set some things in motion now. Before now the Dark Lord wasn't moving enough to warrant such dangerous choices. But if he has tried for France, that means things are more dangerous now. Things need to put into motion."

"Why are you telling me this?" Charlie asked.

"Mostly because I need to be sure of it myself," Draco replied truthfully. "Partly because I want you to know that I don't take this lightly."

"You might want to leave before Bill wakes up," Charlie warned. Draco nodded.

"Former Death Eater," Draco said with a nod. "Makes sense. I'll be in contact in a few days to tell you what I've organised." Charlie nodded and walked over to Hermione who threw herself into his muscled arms. Only then did Draco notice that Charlie began to cry.

"We're going then?" Astoria asked, a tear rolling down her face. Draco kissed her.

"I think it's for the best," Draco replied. "It might not be for the best for Bill to see me when he wakes." Astoria nodded and without another word the two of them took the Floo to Spinner's End. When they got there Astoria broke down and Draco consoled her. She fell asleep in his arms and he fell asleep not long afterwards, wondering what his father would deign to tell him.

"Who are you going to contact?" Astoria asked the next day during breakfast.

"Brantell is still the best idea," Draco replied, sipping some coffee.

Draco and Astoria had compiled a list of people that they thought might be potential allies in their fight against the Dark Lord not long after discovering Grimmauld Place. They had ranked people as most important based on what they could do to help the cause. For the most part the list contained mainly of people that Draco knew from his parents had, at least at one time, been against the Dark Lord.

Top of their list was Hugo Brantell, a journalist for the _Daily Prophet_ who, prior to the Dark Lord's victory, was freelance and mostly writing against the Dark Lord himself. Draco knew that if the Dark Lord had known what Brantell had written about him previously, the man would not be alive. Thankfully the Dark Lord was not aware of many journalists, and did not take the time to read every article about himself. As a result, Brantell survived and took a job from Rita Skeeter who, as the Editor for the _Daily Prophet_ found herself at a disadvantage as many journalists had been killed due to their loyalty, or lack thereof. Other than Skeeter herself, Brantell was the main writer for the Daily Prophet.

Most importantly to Draco and Astoria was his ability as an empath. Empaths in magical society were among the rarest things that could be found, rarer even than Metamorphmagi, and Brantell was, to Draco's knowledge, the only surviving Empath in Britain. This was important as Draco knew that the ability could come in handy in order to find others who would be willing to join the fight. As Brantell was not on the Dark Lord's radar, there was little chance of him being discovered. As a result, he was the perfect first choice in Draco's mind.

"You realise that this is the first time that we're really placing ourselves into danger," Astoria said with only the slightest hint of fear in her voice. Draco nodded.

"It was always going to happen eventually," Draco said softly. "Besides, I'm going to take at least some precautions. If it turns out that he won't help us, I'll do a memory charm."

"Memory charms can be broken," Astoria pointed out.

"Yes, but you have to find it first," Draco said. "Who would be looking for one in Brantell's head?"

"Okay, fine," Astoria replied. "When are we going?"

"I think it's best if I go on my own," Draco said. "If anything does happen, it's best not to implicate you too much."

"Alright," Astoria agreed reluctantly. "When?"

"Well, he probably worked the last two days since the _Prophet_ came out both days," Draco said. "And since the Dark Lord invaded France, there was likely a lot to be done. I'll go around seven o'clock."

At seven o'clock Draco found himself standing outside a home in a Muggle neighbourhood. That was how he had found Brantell's home. As many wizarding families live close to, or even around, Muggles, there is a specific book given to each family detailing where people live and whether or not there are Muggles nearby. Brantell, Draco knew, was living on his own and had been for years. Empaths were known to not have particularly good relationships. Draco walked up to the door and knocked.

Hugo Brantell answered the door. He was a tall man and was dressed in something akin to a Muggle suit, but without the tie. He had no robe on, which Draco knew was normal when people live in a Muggle neighbourhood such as this. His brown hair was short, but messy. He had bags under his eyes.

"Draco Malfoy," he said suddenly.

"Hugo Brantell," Draco replied.

"Normally I would hesitate to allow you in my home, but I sense that you are not here to harm me," Brantell said and moved out of the doorway. "I assume you know about my ability?"

"Of course," Draco replied, entering into the home. It was not extremely furnished, and it was clear that the man who lived here had no true connections in the world.

"Then you know I can't turn it off," he said smiling. "A daily struggle I'm afraid."

"So I've heard," Draco said. Brantell led Draco to the sitting room where he and Draco sat in matching armchairs. "How much can your abilities do? Can you tell why I'm here?"

"To a degree," Brantell replied. "You're not hostile, which tells me that I've not done anything wrong. There is some indignation at the idea that I would think that you would be hostile which tells me that you're likely dealing with some kind of shift in beliefs about yourself. You're slightly nervous, likely because you're here under odd circumstances, which I can sense have something to do with a feeling I know all too well."

"Impressive," Draco said. "I'm going to try and bring down the Dark Lord."

"I thought that might be the case," Brantell replied. "And I can tell that you're not lying, which is somewhat shocking given who you are."

"I can see why," Draco muttered. "Do you share my misgivings about the current regime?"

"Oh, trust me, I do," Brantell replied seriously. "I've been to enough of the executions and felt the feelings involved to understand that what is happening is wrong. Not that I didn't know before, of course, but there is something about knowing that the executioners actually enjoy what they do, and feeling the fear and shock of the people being executed that makes it so much worse."

"Will you help me, then?" Draco asked.

"If I can, yes," Brantell said fervently. "I've been wanting to do something for years. What would you have me do?"

"I need to get a group together," Draco replied, sitting forward in the armchair. "A resistance against the Dark Lord. I want you to get me a list of people who might be sympathetic to the cause using your abilities."

"I'll be honest," Brantell said. "I've not used my abilities like this before. In most other cases I would be hesitant to. Fortunately, this is important. And luckily for you, there is going to be a big press conference from the Dark Lord himself tomorrow. I imagine a lot of the more important people will be there. I'll look over the crowd and get you some names. After that it might be difficult, at least until the next execution. That's when some of the smaller people will be out."

"That's perfect," Draco said.

"May I ask," Brantell put in, "what, exactly, made you change your mind? I can sense that you have and that it's a strong feeling, but it seems odd that the son of Lucius Malfoy would turn against the Dark Lord. It must have been important."

"I don't have your abilities," Draco said simply. "And yet I eventually came to see the same things that you have. It took me longer than it should have because of Lucius Malfoy. It was my wife who pointed it all out to me and eventually got me to realise that what has happened was wrong all along."

"There's more you aren't telling me," Brantell said. "I sense loss. Recent loss."

"There are some things that are best left unsaid," Draco said coldly. "We have a deal then?"

"Yes," Brantell replied, reaching out his hand. Draco shook it.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Firstly, I want to apologise for the lack of uploads the last two weeks. It has been a hectic fortnight for me, with final University assessments, the Supanova Pop Culture Expo and being sick the last few days. But I'm back and now that I've got a heap of free time I should be back to regular updates from now on.

So, Bill and the kids aren't dead. I never planned for them to be, but here's confirmation. I'll get more into Bill's story either in the next chapter or the one immediately following it.

I also think it's important to point out that the character of Hugo Brantell is not my own creation. It is the creation of fanfiction author, _Semprini_ who uses Hugo in his trilogy beginning with "Harry Potter and the Veil of Mystery" which I heartily recommend. Hugo is a great character who I think will work well in my story, so I felt it right to use him.

A great big thank you to _musicalgryffindor_, _H_, _TheFantabulousPotterHead_, _MissMalfoy77_, _MissDemigodWizard_, _BurkelyDuffieldLover_ and _Phoenix Tears Of A Riddle_ for their reviews of my last chapter. I clearly had an effect on you guys, so I am glad to see that you cared enough to review!

I'll see you guys in the next chapter.

_**~Colin, The Master of Whisperers**_


	16. Uncomfortable Truths

**_Disclaimer: _**_I make no claim to the rights of any characters that are owned by J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros., and make no money from this venture. This work is purely for entertainment purposes._

* * *

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Uncomfortable Truths**_

"_The hardest choices in life aren't between what's right and what's wrong but between what's right and what's best."  
_- Jamie Ford ("Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet")

_**Dennis Creevey**_

_**27**__**th**__** December, 2003**_

"No, I'm going to stay at my parents' again tonight," Dennis told Sam over the phone. She groaned.

"I don't think you realise how it is staying here with just Patrick," she complained.

"I've done it heaps," Dennis protested. "Whenever you have a new love of your life, it gets back down to me and Patrick again."

"Yeah, but you're both guys," Sam said. "Doing guy things." Dennis laughed.

"I've never heard you complain about being alone with me before," he said with a sly smile she couldn't see. "What are you trying to say?"

"You're different," she said quickly. "Pat is … Well he's more of a guy."

"Last time I checked, so was I," Dennis said with a laugh. "I see your point I suppose. It's just for another day. You'll get through it, I'm sure."

"I'm not so sure," Sam said. "If I see another empty beer can, I'm gonna lose it."

"You have my permission to do so," Dennis said. "I need to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Deal with Pat til then."

"Yes, well if you come home and I've murdered him, don't be shocked," Sam replied.

"I promise, I'll walk into the door and the first thing out of my mouth will be 'Well, she did warn me!'," Dennis said and Sam laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Out of Dennis, Patrick and Sam, only Dennis had been home for Christmas at any point. Patrick was estranged from his parents and Sam's family were holidaying in America without her. Dennis had spent Christmas Eve and some of Christmas Day with the two of them before heading off to spend time with his parents and Teddy. It was, to the best of his knowledge, the first time that she and Patrick had spent more than a day alone together. Sam was still getting over her last break-up and Patrick was too lazy to go anywhere else, so they were forced to spend time together. It didn't entirely shock him that they weren't getting along all that well.

He had spoken to Patrick earlier that very day, in fact, and he had complained as well. He felt like she was trying to restrict him, and he resented it. Dennis tried to make it seem like he agreed with him, and subtly told him to do something to counteract it. He hoped that he would. Dennis was fond of Sam and Pat so he didn't like that they weren't getting along.

"I take it Sam and Patrick aren't getting along too well then?" Dennis' father asked when Dennis walked into the room. Dennis laughed.

"No they really aren't," he said. "They're really only friends because I'm friends with both of them. This will be good for them, though. They need to just get comfortable around each other."

"Some people are just like that," his father said. "Some people just don't click and there's nothing to be done." Dennis thought oddly of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He had seen enough of them in his few years at Hogwarts to know that they weren't exactly the type of people to usually get along. If they were ever alone, it usually dissolved into some argument or another. Without Harry Potter, Dennis knew that they would never have even been friends.

"Maybe," Dennis said. "I think they just need me there. I'm usually pretty good at diffusing this sort of thing for them."

"Well, let's hope so," his father said with a smile. "At least they've only got the one day. Are you still planning on going back tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Dennis said. "If it weren't for Teddy, I'd be on my way home right now."

When Teddy had learned that Dennis was going home, he had done something that Dennis had not seen him do before. He threw a bit of a tantrum. To Dennis, this was both hilarious and cute. As Teddy got angry, his hair started to change colour. Dennis noticed at one point that his hair was actually three different colours at once at one point. Three patches, precisely horizontal across his head. His fringe was red, the top of his head was aqua and at the back it had been black. Dennis' parents weren't pleased that Dennis was laughing so hard. He just leaned down and hugged Teddy and told him he would stay one more day. After that, Teddy had been elated. His parents had still sent him to his room for a time out, however, and told Dennis that it was probably best not to laugh if that happens again.

"If I ever have kids," Dennis had said, grinning, "I'll take that into account. For right now, that's just funny." Dennis realised at that time that he was now thinking of Teddy as his little brother. He had known it before, but he had not appreciated it until that point.

"He worships you, you know?" his father told him quietly. "He's never thrown a tantrum like the one he threw earlier when you said you were going."

"Worship might be a bit far," Dennis muttered.

"Trust me, it's worship," his father said. "Every day he asks about you. Without fail. I don't think you appreciate what you did for him."

"I only did what anyone else would do," Dennis replied.

"Perhaps," his father agreed. "Still, you don't see it do you?"

"See what?" Dennis asked.

"You gave Teddy the first real life he has ever known," his father said seriously. "The only life he ever knew before that was one on the run or in hiding. His grandmother killed and him forced to be taken into hiding. Then you come along and all of a sudden, he has a happy life. Is it any wonder he's like he is?"

"Why are you telling me this anyway?" Dennis asked. His father shrugged.

"I know you're in this period of your life where you aren't a kid, but you aren't quite an adult either," his father said, standing up. "No, don't look at me like that. It's true. You don't have truly adult responsibilities, but you aren't some kid anymore either. I know you don't want to have this responsibility because of this space you're in, but Teddy needs you. Almost as much as he needs your mother and me. Your mother and I know that you need to live your own life, but he doesn't."

"What should I do?" Dennis asked exasperatedly. His father placed a hand on his shoulder.

"An extra call to talk to him every now and then would go a long way," his father said. "You never had a little brother, but you do now. Remember how Colin used to send you a letter every week when you weren't there? It always made you so happy. That's all you need to do. Just call more often and talk to him."

Dennis realised that it was one of the rare times that his father even mentioned Colin. It was not something that was talked about within the family. In fact, Dennis was certain that he had talked about Colin more in the last few months with Patrick and Sam than he had in five years with both of his parents combined. He nodded his head, remembering the letters he used to get. He realised that he still had them stored in his room.

"Dad," Dennis said quietly. "Have you been in his room?" His father knew what he was talking about.

"I can't bring myself to," his father admitted. "I think about it every time I see the door, but I'm not strong enough. I don't want to face up to it, I guess."

Dennis decided not to tell his father that he had been in the room himself. He knew it was selfish to keep it from his parents, but he couldn't help himself.

He walked to his room, which was now being occupied by Teddy, who was playing with some of his new toys on the floor. His face lit up when he saw Dennis. Dennis sat down and grabbed a truck.

"You shouldn't get angry like you did earlier," Dennis said with a smile. "I know you don't want me to leave again, but you know I have to. If I don't, my friends wouldn't like me very much." _Well it's not a lie_, Dennis thought as a thought flashed through his mind of Sam chasing after Patrick with a large knife.

"Oh," Teddy said. "I didn't think about that."

"Exactly," Dennis said. "How would your friends like it if you stayed away from them for too long?"

"I guess," the five year old murmured. "I just don't want you to go."

"I know, buddy," Dennis said. "How about this then? I'll call once a week just to talk to you. I can't come home every week, but is that good?"

"Just for me?" Teddy asked with a smile. Dennis nodded.

"Just for you," he confirmed. Teddy reached over and hugged him.

"Thanks," he said. Dennis laughed.

"Anything for you," he said truthfully, putting down the truck he was holding. "Can I just have a look in the cupboard?"

"What for?" Teddy asked.

"I left something in there and I'd like to take it back with me," Dennis replied. Teddy nodded.

"What is it?" he asked as he followed Dennis to the cupboard. Dennis opened it and knelt on the floor. He found the box and pulled it out.

"It's all the letters my big brother used to send me when he was away at school," Dennis explained. "I didn't like him having to go, like you don't like me having to go. So he wrote me one letter every week. I decided to save them."

He omitted the fact that there were a few weeks when he didn't get a letter as Colin had been petrified. He wasn't sure what Teddy could understand about such things, so he decided that it was all best left unsaid.

"Why did you keep them?" Teddy asked.

"I never wanted to throw them away," he explained. "This was all I had of Colin for a few years."

"He had to go away like Dolly, didn't he?" Teddy asked. Dennis was impressed that Teddy remembered that conversation.

"Yes, he did," Dennis said. Teddy was quiet after that. Dennis ruffled his hair and left the room, knowing that Teddy would soon find a distraction. He envied that quality in children.

That night, when he knew that his parents were both asleep, Dennis took out his wand and used it as a light to read one of the letters. It didn't have a date, but Dennis knew that it was from late in Colin's second year as it was one of the last letters that Dennis had received.

_Dennis,_

_I can't wait for you to get to Hogwarts next year! It's getting closer and closer now and I just want you to be able to be in awe of everything in the magical world. I just can't stop myself from thinking about you being here next year. It'll be great!_

_I mean, this year hasn't been too great. What with Sirius Black and the dementors. I count myself lucky that I haven't had a run-in with either of them. There was that one time in the Common Room, but no one really knows what happened there._

_School's winding up now. Exams start soon. I'm a bit worried about them, especially since I was petrified for a lot of last year. The extra tutoring has been helpful. It was nice of Professor Dumbledore to offer that, and it has helped. Professor Sprout is so nice that I have started to wish that I was in Hufflepuff, as she's the head of that house. And, no, I won't tell you how the Sorting happens! Stop asking._

_Malfoy tried to taunt me the other day. The normal stuff that he tries. Nothing I can't deal with. This time, though, Harry stood up for me. It wasn't much, but it was nice of him. I'm not even sure if he did it because it was me, or because it was Malfoy. Either way, it took the focus off me, which I'm pleased about. You'll have to watch out for Malfoy when you get here. He doesn't like Muggle-borns, and he doesn't like me either, so you'll probably be a target. But don't worry. I'll back you up if it happens._

_I'm sorry, but I don't really have all that much to say. It's been pretty boring recently. Nothing's really changed. And there doesn't seem to be some giant snake this year anyway._

_I think I'll leave it there. Make sure you write me back._

_Love,_

_Colin_

Dennis put the letter back into the box. It didn't take him long to realise that there was so much left unsaid in all of his brother's letters. Having read even a little of Colin's journal, Dennis knew more about his brother than he had ever seen in the letters. Before Hogwarts, Dennis had been so excited to get letters from his brother, that he didn't really see them for what they were. Vaguely he wondered if their parents had ever seen it.

Colin had never had any friends at Hogwarts. Not really. Dennis should have seen that from the letters over those two years. Not once was a friend ever mentioned. He mentioned Harry and, occasionally, Ron and Hermione. He mentioned Draco Malfoy bullying him. He mentioned the professors. Mainly Professor Sprout who had been the one to tutor him to get him caught up to where he needed to be. But rarely anyone else.

Dennis now fully understood why Colin had been looking forward to him coming to Hogwarts as well. Dennis had no doubt that Colin truly did want him to experience everything, but he also knew that there was the thought that he would finally have someone there with him.

_Make sure you write me back._

That line was so different to the rest. So direct. So flat. It wasn't Colin asking, it was him demanding it, something that Colin never did. It wasn't in his nature.

Dennis began to think, not for the first time, that he blamed Harry Potter. But he didn't think on this very much. He knew full well that Harry had more important things on his mind. He remembered the meeting with Nearly Headless Nick. Nick had said that Voldemort killed Harry twice. It was clear to Dennis that there was more than a little truth to the stuff about him being the Chosen One.

In truth, Dennis knew that there was no one to blame for Colin's friendlessness and loneliness at Hogwarts, save Colin himself. He didn't like to think it, but he knew that had Colin not acted so obsessed in his First Year, there might have been a different outcome. Everyone else couldn't seem to find it within them to accept that Colin made a mistake. So, Dennis concluded that he couldn't blame anyone. What happened happened and Dennis couldn't change it, no matter how much he wished that he could.

Dennis put the box and his wand on the floor next to the couch, rolled over and closed his eyes. It didn't take him long to fall asleep.

"You promise you'll call?" Teddy asked apprehensively as Dennis put his bag in his car.

"Of course!" Dennis said, smiling. "I gave you my word. I'll call on Wednesday night, how about that?"

"Cool," Teddy said excitedly.

"And you won't throw any more tantrums?" Dennis asked with a wide grin. Teddy looked slightly ashamed.

"No," he said.

"Good," Dennis said, hugging Teddy. He then kissed his mother on the cheek and hugged his father.

"Drive carefully," his mother said.

"Always," Dennis replied, as he always did. His mother had never been fond of the idea of Dennis with a car, which Dennis had always found odd. "I'll let you know when I get there, as always."

Dennis got in the car and drove off. He looked in his rear view mirror to see Teddy waving goodbye like a madman. Dennis chuckled to himself and put his eyes back on the road.

About half an hour after he started driving, he saw some odd things in the distance. He saw several strange flashes of light, which he passed off as something mundane. That was until he saw the Dark Mark go up in the sky somewhere off towards where he had seen the lights.

Immediately he pulled over to the side of the road and pulled out his phone. He sent a text straight to Sam, his hands shaking.

_Will be a bit longer than expected. I'll let you know when I get started._

After he sent the message, he got back into his car and made his way towards the Dark Mark in the sky. When he got to the house the mark was over, he stopped his car on the side of the road a few houses down. He saw a man walk past his car, not a care in the world.

Dennis could see the front yard of the house clearly. There were seven people there, four of them in dark cloaks with hoods up. The other three were in Muggle clothes. The three in Muggle clothes appeared to be duelling the other four. There were two men and one woman. The first, and closest to the house, was a shorter than average man with dark grey hair. He was wearing black suit pants with what appeared to be a nice purple button-up shirt. Next to him was a woman of average height, though next to the first man she was a giant. She had black hair which flowed to her lower back. She was moving nimbly. Next to her was a much taller man. He had curly white hair and seemed to be wearing a sort-of archaic maroon suit, down to the frilly cuffs.

Dennis moved to exit his car but found that he couldn't get up, and he couldn't open the door. He turned around and found a man sitting next to him. There was a dark bandana covering the lower portion of his face, and he had his hood up. All Dennis could see were the man's eyes. There was something familiar about him, but Dennis couldn't think of what it is.

"Get out of my car!" Dennis said finally.

"I'm afraid I can't do that right now," the man replied, looking over to Dennis.

"You did this," Dennis accused, referring to his not being able to move out of his car.

"If you're referring to keeping you here, then you're right," the man replied.

"I want to help them," Dennis said, looking over at the duel that was still going on. He saw the tall man take out one of the attackers, leaving three to go. The woman was manoeuvring her way around to the side of the house and one of the Death Eaters not involved in the duel took chase.

"You would only be in their way," the man said simply. "Those three have been at this for a long time now. They trust each other implicitly and completely. You would ruin that and would likely get them killed." The little man dodged a Killing Curse so deftly that Dennis was almost certain that he had been hit. Another person walked past Dennis' car.

"Why aren't they more concerned?" Dennis asked.

"The Death Eaters put up a temporary Muggle repelling field," the man explained. "They still don't want to be found out by Muggles."

"How do you know this?" Dennis asked. "More to the point, why don't you help them? Are you one of You-Know-Who's?"

"Of course not," the man said hastily. "I'm not helping them for the same reason that I'm stopping you. I could help them though. Likely better than you could. In truth, I'm here as an observer only. See that tall man?"

Dennis looked on as the tall man jumped out of the way of a sickly pink curse.

"Yeah," he said. He found that he was still shaking. "Who is he?"

"I fear that telling you would put him at risk," the man replied. "You see, that's not who he really is. He has made a life out of Polyjuice Potion the last few years. I don't think he has used his real face away from the other two once since the downfall. He is also, as you will see soon, a master of faking his own death. Anyway, my point is that I'm here to see what he does. You see, I've only recently learned that he exists. He could even hide from me. The other two I found out years ago."

"Who are they?" Dennis asked. For a moment, as Dennis saw the woman dive through a window into the house, the man was silent.

"Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle," he said. "The Ministry knows they're around, so it's not dangerous for you to know. They've been doing this sort of thing for years now, apparently with this other guy."

"Who are you anyway?" Dennis asked, wondering how he hadn't asked that before. "Are you with them?"

"It's not important who I am," the man said. "And, no, I'm not with them. They don't know I exist anymore than you did until just now."

"If you're not working for You-Know-Who, why wouldn't you join them?" Dennis asked accusingly. The man shrugged. Dennis looked back and saw the windows inside light up a green. He hoped that Hestia Jones hadn't been hit.

"They're not the right people," the man replied somewhat cryptically. "They've given up any hope that society will go back to how it was. They're not fighting to win. Not at all. It's about vengeance and revenge for them. I don't agree with that."

"You think You-Know-Who can be taken down?" Dennis asked. Hestia Jones ran out of the front door of the house and stunned one of the three Death Eaters fighting Dedalus Diggle and the taller, polyjuiced man.

"I firmly believe it," the man said strongly. "Even if I'm the only one. I will fight to my last breath to take him down. So many people gave their lives for that cause, and to throw that away is completely wrong. It's tarnishing the reputations of everyone who died for it.

"Harry Potter. Ron Weasley. Hermione Granger. Luna Lovegood. Albus Dumbledore. Kingsley Shacklebolt. Remus Lupin. Nymphadora Tonks. Colin Creevey," the man paused and Dennis drew in a breath. He looked out of the car in time to see the tall man use his wand to blast a hole in one of the Death Eaters' chest, sending blood and flesh everywhere. "Any number of Hogwarts teachers and students as well as the civilians. The Weasley family. Those executed for their beliefs and actions. I remember them, and I can't help but know that he can be taken down. If I have to do it myself, then so be it."

"I can help," Dennis said quietly.

"No, I don't think you can," the man said. Dennis felt offended. "I'm sorry, but it's true. You never finished your schooling. The most offensive magic you know is from Dumbledore's Army. Besides, it might be too much for you."

"Hey!" Dennis said hotly as Dedalus Diggle took down one more Death Eater, this time with a simple Stunning Spell. "I can deal with it."

"Can you?" the man asked, not raising his voice. "Let me tell you something that happened just recently. You-Know-Who attacked Beauxbatons on Christmas Day, did you know that?"

"No," Dennis replied.

"I didn't think so," the man continued. "His intention, no doubt, was to try to take France. He relied on the tactic he used five years ago and took the school. Luckily for France, this seems to have been a mistake on his part. Fleur Delacour, I'm sure you remember her, was at the school that day. I should say Fleur Weasley. She married Bill years ago. Nonetheless, she was there. She found You-Know-Who. She managed to slice one of his ears clean off, along with some of Lucius Malfoy's fingers. You-Know-Who still killed her.

"That's not all, though," the man continued grimly. "When he came back to Britain, he brought Fleur's body, along with the body of massive Madame Maxime with him. He held a conference, for lack of a better word, for the British Magical Community and declared that he had taken Beauxbatons. He then said that the French Ministry had two days to pledge allegiance to him. To show them that he wasn't joking, he proceeded to burn both bodies in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. When they were burnt to nothing but ash, he flew, using wandless and wordless magic, over the Ministry in France, and created a sort-of sandstorm using the ashes of the two women. Suffice it to say, France surrendered.

"So, tell me Dennis Creevey," the man said stiffly as the tall man took down the final Death Eater. "Do you honestly believe that you can deal with this? This is what I'm up against. I'm fighting an uphill battle."

Dennis was silent. He wanted to say that he could deal with all that. That he would help. But he couldn't. His only thoughts were of his mother and father, Teddy, Patrick and Sam and what might happen to them if he got involved. He couldn't do that. He didn't want any death. Even the Death Eater that he saw the tall man kill was too much for him.

He wanted so very much to help, as he knew that the man in the bandana was right. But he knew that there was too much at risk for him and those he loved. He remembered the speech that Dumbledore gave at the end of his First Year about choosing what's right over what's easy, and wondered if he was just choosing what was easy. _This isn't the easy choice_, Dennis thought morosely.

"No, I didn't think so," the man said quietly. "I don't judge you for that, Dennis. In fact, in a way I envy you. You have people you love that you worry about. I wish the same could be said for me, but it can't."

As Dennis watched, he saw the tall man pull out a long knife. He crouched down to one of the Death Eaters and tore off the robe. The man dug the knife into the man's chest and carved something. Dennis felt his stomach churning.

"Live your life," the man said. "I'll let you know when it's safe to come back."

He started to say something else, but stopped when someone apparate into the front yard next to Hestia Jones. Dennis suck in a breath.

"Who the hell is that?" the man asked. Dennis recognised the woman immediately. It was hard not to notice the pink.

"Dolores Umbridge!" Dennis said excitedly. The man looked at him.

"You're happy to see her?" he asked.

"Kind of," Dennis said. "It's a long story."

"I didn't even realise she was still alive," the man replied. "I knew she defied the Ministry, but I thought she'd be dead by now." _Me too_, Dennis thought.

Dennis watched as the tall man took a rock from Umbridge's hands. The tall man pointed his wand at it and soon the rock took the form of a body, similar to that of the man. They then proceeded to use several offensive spells on the body until it was less recognisable. They let it fall to the ground and then all disapparated.

"As I told you," the man said. "He faked his own death. Not really necessary, but that's not important to him."

Dennis turned to talk to the man again, but he was gone. Dennis tried and found that he could open his door once again. He thought for a moment, but closed it again. He put his hands out in front of him and found that he was still shaking, though less so. His heart was beating faster than usual, but less so than it had been before. Dennis took three deep breaths before starting his car up and driving away.

Almost two hours later he found himself at the door to his apartment. Before he opened it, he thought again of the man with the bandana. He couldn't work him out at all. He didn't fully understand who he was or what his intentions were. In the end, Dennis was more concerned that the man knew that he was still around. For some reason, he wasn't as worried as he thought that he should be.

He checked his phone for a moment and saw three texts from Sam, and two from Patrick. Mostly along the lines of "Where are you?" or "How long will you be?". Sam had been the only one of the two to ask if he was okay, which Dennis expected. He realised that he never told Sam when he was leaving after he messaged her.

Dennis opened the door to find an empty living room. There was no one there. He was sure that he had seen Patrick and Sam's cars, but he assumed that he was wrong. He took his bags into his room and thought he heard a sound. Instantly his heart started beating again and his mind instantly jumped to the man with the bandana. Dennis swiftly took his wand out and moved to the door of Patrick's room. He pushed it open and immediately regretted it as he saw Patrick and Sam naked on the bed.

Dennis screamed and slammed the door shut.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Truth be told, this chapter took much longer than I expected. I didn't really know where I was going with it. The scene with the bandana man was not an original plan, but it worked within a few other ideas that I've had. Actually, on the topic of bandana man, I am wondering if anyone has any ideas on who he is. Anyway, there'll be more on him in the future.

Also, the man with Dedalus and Hestia was another addition. I quite like this addition. Some of you might be able to guess who it is. It's probably an easier guess than bandana man is.

A huge thank you to _MissDemigodWizard_, _diddleymaz1_, _musicalgryffindor_ and _MissMalfoy77_ for reviewing my last chapter. It means a lot to me that people take the time to review.

The next chapter shouldn't be too long. That said, I'm pretty busy over the next few days. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

I'll see you guys in the next chapter.

**_~Colin, The Master of Whisperers_**


End file.
